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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: tear · prune · bore · saw · chip · bound · deal · clip

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. prune — to trim
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. prune — to trim
  6. bore — to drill
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. bore — to tire
  10. saw — the tool
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — from crying
  13. bound — obliged
  14. chip — to eat
  15. deal — to handle
  16. bound — tied together
  17. clip — a video
  18. clip — for paper
  19. saw — the tool
  20. bound — certain
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. tear — to rip
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. chip — for betting

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