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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: prune · ground · mug · march · snap · pit · rule · clip

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. rule — a law
  3. march — music
  4. rule — government
  5. mug — to rob
  6. mug — a cup
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. pit — in a race
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. march — the month
  11. mug — a face
  12. snap — to click
  13. ground — the earth
  14. pit — a hole
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. march — the month
  19. clip — for paper
  20. ground — crushed
  21. prune — to trim
  22. clip — to cut
  23. ground — a position
  24. clip — a video

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