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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 · row · game · wound · bound · prune · track · saw

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. clip — a video
  5. wound — an injury
  6. row — to paddle
  7. prune — to trim
  8. clip — for paper
  9. prune — to trim
  10. clip — to cut
  11. track — a song
  12. track — to keep track
  13. wound — an injury
  14. game — a match
  15. game — wild animals
  16. track — a path
  17. saw — the tool
  18. row — a line
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. bound — obliged
  22. saw — the tool
  23. bound — certain
  24. bound — tied together

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