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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: mouse · can · prune · bore · fall · court · clip · snap

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. clip — for paper
  4. clip — a video
  5. snap — to click
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. court — of a king
  9. fall — to drop
  10. court — for sport
  11. bore — to tire
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. can — a tin
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. can — to be able to
  16. prune — to trim
  17. fall — the season
  18. fall — to drop
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. can — a tin
  21. court — of law
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. bore — to drill
  24. clip — to cut

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