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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.

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: pit · clip · tube · land · rash · court · rest · prune

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. pit — in a race
  3. tube — the underground
  4. rash — hasty
  5. rash — a series
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. rest — a break
  8. court — of law
  9. court — of a king
  10. court — for sport
  11. land — ground
  12. pit — a hole
  13. prune — to trim
  14. clip — to cut
  15. rest — what's left
  16. tube — a container
  17. clip — for paper
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. rest — what's left
  20. land — a country
  21. clip — a video
  22. prune — to trim
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. tube — in a tire

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