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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 120 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: prune · spring · calf · clip · bear · ruler · kid · tear

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. prune — to trim
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. spring — of water
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. prune — to trim
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. bear — the animal
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. spring — a coil
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. kid — to tease
  15. clip — a video
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. clip — to cut
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — to rip
  20. clip — for paper
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. bear — the animal
  23. kid — child
  24. calf — of the leg

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