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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: clip · deal · rest · pop · spell · hand · prune · wax

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. pop — to visit
  3. clip — for paper
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. clip — to cut
  7. rest — a break
  8. hand — help
  9. clip — a video
  10. wax — to grow
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. spell — letters
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — to trim
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rest — what's left
  18. pop — music
  19. spell — magic
  20. pop — soda
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. spell — a short time
  23. hand — in cards
  24. prune — the fruit

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