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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 · pass · plane · club · spell · chip · swing

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. swing — to play on
  3. spell — letters
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — to trim
  6. chip — to eat
  7. spell — magic
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. plane — a tool
  11. spell — a short time
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. tear — from crying
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. tear — from crying
  17. pass — a permit
  18. chip — for betting
  19. club — a group
  20. club — for dancing
  21. swing — music
  22. swing — in golf
  23. tear — to rip
  24. pass — to spend time

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