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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: bear · clip · court · prune · deal · pass · rock · pop

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  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. clip — to cut
  2. court — of law
  3. pop — music
  4. rock — music
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. court — of a king
  7. clip — for paper
  8. pop — soda
  9. pop — to visit
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. court — for sport
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. deal — to handle
  17. bear — the animal
  18. pass — a permit
  19. prune — to trim
  20. prune — to trim
  21. rock — a stone
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. bear — the animal
  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