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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: clip · prune · wind · sharp · roll · face · coach · suit

  1. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. prune — to trim
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. wind — moving air
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. suit — in cards
  7. suit — to fit
  8. roll — a cake
  9. prune — to trim
  10. wind — moving air
  11. suit — clothes
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. face — to point toward
  14. clip — to cut
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — for paper
  17. face — to confront
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. face — part of the head
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. sharp — clever
  24. wind — to turn a key

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com