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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: mine · swing · prune · rash · stand · clip · can · tube

  1. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. prune — to trim
  3. tube — the underground
  4. prune — to trim
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. swing — music
  7. can — a tin
  8. tube — a container
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. rash — a series
  13. clip — a video
  14. clip — for paper
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. mine — for digging
  17. swing — in golf
  18. swing — to play on
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. rash — hasty
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. can — to be able to
  23. stand — to bear
  24. clip — to cut

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