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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.

Make a worksheet

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

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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 · hand · prune · bowl · field · lash · land · safe

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. clip — a video
  3. prune — to trim
  4. land — to come down
  5. land — a country
  6. clip — to cut
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. field — farmland
  9. hand — in cards
  10. hand — help
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. prune — to trim
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. field — a subject
  17. clip — for paper
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. field — for sport
  24. land — ground

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