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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: jam · kick · clip · deal · trunk · rule · prune · kid

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. clip — for paper
  3. deal — to handle
  4. rule — a law
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. clip — a video
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. kid — child
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. prune — to trim
  17. kick — in football
  18. kid — to tease
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. clip — to cut
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. rule — government

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