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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: content · wound · clip · band · prune · racket · dip · rest

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. clip — to cut
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. band — a ring
  6. band — a music group
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wound — an injury
  9. dip — to sink
  10. prune — to trim
  11. content — happy
  12. wound — an injury
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. prune — to trim
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. clip — a video
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rest — a break
  23. clip — for paper
  24. rest — what's left

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