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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: pop · last · cell · safe · clip · prune · pit · snap

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. pit — in a race
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — to trim
  8. last — finally
  9. last — final
  10. last — to go on
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. pop — soda
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. cell — a phone
  16. pit — a hole
  17. snap — to click
  18. cell — in biology
  19. pop — music
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. clip — for paper
  22. pop — to visit
  23. clip — a video
  24. clip — to cut

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