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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 · track · mug · net · club · stick · prune · land

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. mug — a face
  3. club — a group
  4. land — a country
  5. land — ground
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. land — to come down
  10. clip — for paper
  11. prune — to trim
  12. track — a path
  13. net — after costs
  14. mug — to rob
  15. mug — a cup
  16. track — to keep track
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. club — for dancing
  19. net — for catching
  20. club — for golf
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. clip — to cut
  23. track — a song
  24. net — in sport

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