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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: prune · chest · lie · roll · jam · clip · squash · content

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. roll — a list
  4. squash — to crush
  5. clip — for paper
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. clip — a video
  9. roll — a cake
  10. content — the amount
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — of your body
  13. lie — to recline
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. prune — to trim
  17. squash — the sport
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. prune — to trim
  21. content — happy
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. chest — a box

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