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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: charge · land · deal · degree · prune · tube · clip · bark

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. tube — the underground
  3. bark — to shout
  4. degree — an amount
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. tube — a container
  9. degree — from a university
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. land — to come down
  12. prune — to trim
  13. charge — a price
  14. charge — electricity
  15. prune — to trim
  16. clip — for paper
  17. land — ground
  18. degree — temperature
  19. deal — to handle
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. land — a country
  22. charge — in control
  23. clip — to cut
  24. clip — a video

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