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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: clip · wax · board · fan · pound · prune · trunk · arm

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. prune — to trim
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. clip — for paper
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. clip — a video
  12. board — a committee
  13. prune — to trim
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. clip — to cut
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. wax — to grow
  19. board — to get on
  20. pound — a weight
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. arm — part of the body

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