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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: clip · fine · shower · cap · rest · snap · prune · cue

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. cap — a hat
  3. fine — high quality
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. cap — of ice
  7. cue — for pool
  8. snap — to click
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. cap — a lid
  11. prune — to trim
  12. cue — a signal
  13. cue — a hint
  14. rest — what's left
  15. fine — all right
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. clip — to cut
  18. prune — to trim
  19. shower — to wash
  20. clip — a video
  21. rest — a break
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. shower — rain
  24. rest — what's left

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