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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 116 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: hand · clip · fan · calf · prune · wound · mug · cell

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. hand — in cards
  4. hand — help
  5. clip — for paper
  6. prune — to trim
  7. wound — an injury
  8. clip — to cut
  9. clip — a video
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. mug — to rob
  13. cell — in biology
  14. mug — a face
  15. prune — to trim
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. mug — a cup
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. cell — a phone
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. wound — an injury

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