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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 · chip · rush · date · leaves · shower · plane · prune

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. chip — for betting
  3. rush — hurry
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. shower — rain
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. chip — to eat
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. clip — to cut
  13. clip — for paper
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. shower — to wash
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. prune — to trim
  22. date — the fruit
  23. clip — a video
  24. plane — a tool

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