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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 120 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: wake · ruler · clip · bowl · arm · racket · prune · saw

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — to trim
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. wake — a trail
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — to cut
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — the tool
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. clip — for paper
  24. ruler — for measuring

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