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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: deal · trunk · game · tube · charge · clip · snap · prune

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — to trim
  3. clip — for paper
  4. deal — to handle
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. tube — the underground
  11. game — wild animals
  12. charge — electricity
  13. tube — a container
  14. snap — to click
  15. game — a match
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. clip — to cut
  18. charge — a price
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. charge — in control
  22. clip — a video
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. deal — a big deal

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