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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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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: clip · kick · prune · mark · file · present · dip · last

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. present — there
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. last — finally
  5. mark — a trace
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. prune — to trim
  8. last — to go on
  9. clip — to cut
  10. clip — for paper
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. file — a line of people
  13. present — the time now
  14. file — a tool
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. kick — in football
  17. file — a document
  18. dip — to sink
  19. last — final
  20. clip — a video
  21. present — a gift
  22. mark — a grade
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. prune — to trim

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