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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 · file · rest · jam · craft · shower · prune · pit

  1. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. rest — a break
  4. craft — boats
  5. prune — to trim
  6. shower — rain
  7. rest — what's left
  8. file — a document
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. craft — a skill
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. shower — to wash
  13. prune — to trim
  14. file — a tool
  15. clip — to cut
  16. pit — a hole
  17. clip — for paper
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. pit — in a race
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. rest — what's left
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. file — a line of people
  24. clip — a video

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