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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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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 · club · arm · bat · key · bulb · bound · prune

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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. key — the most important part
  4. bound — tied together
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. clip — to cut
  9. club — for dancing
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bulb — for light
  12. club — for golf
  13. bulb — for light
  14. key — for a lock
  15. key — in music
  16. bound — certain
  17. clip — a video
  18. bound — obliged
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. club — a group
  23. bat — the animal
  24. prune — to trim

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