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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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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: band · kick · nail · lean · prune · toast · clip · arm

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. clip — to cut
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. kick — in football
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. band — a ring
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. prune — to trim
  14. lean — to bend
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. lean — thin
  20. toast — bread
  21. prune — to trim
  22. band — a music group
  23. clip — a video
  24. toast — the most admired

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