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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: rash · prune · spell · pound · kid · clip · tear · suit

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. kid — child
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. suit — clothes
  5. suit — in cards
  6. tear — from crying
  7. spell — letters
  8. spell — magic
  9. spell — a short time
  10. prune — to trim
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. rash — hasty
  13. clip — to cut
  14. tear — to rip
  15. rash — a series
  16. prune — to trim
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. pound — a weight
  19. suit — to fit
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. tear — from crying
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. kid — to tease
  24. clip — for paper

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