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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: prune · mate · clip · content · sharp · spell · trunk · key

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. clip — to cut
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. mate — a friend
  5. prune — to trim
  6. spell — letters
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. prune — to trim
  9. key — for a lock
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. clip — a video
  12. spell — magic
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. content — the amount
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. key — in music
  17. key — the most important part
  18. mate — to breed
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. mate — a partner
  22. spell — a short time
  23. clip — for paper
  24. sharp — clever

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