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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: wake · bat · present · rule · prune · racket · bark · clip

  1. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. prune — to trim
  3. present — the time now
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. rule — government
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. prune — to trim
  9. rule — a law
  10. clip — to cut
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. present — a gift
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. clip — for paper
  17. bat — the animal
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. clip — a video
  23. present — there
  24. bark — to shout

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