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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: game · clip · wax · file · jam · stick · prune · bound

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. clip — a video
  3. clip — to cut
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. clip — for paper
  6. game — a match
  7. file — a tool
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. bound — obliged
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. file — a document
  13. prune — to trim
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. bound — certain
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. game — wild animals
  20. file — a line of people
  21. wax — to grow
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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