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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: last · prune · wind · arm · mug · clip · bore · pass

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. pass — a permit
  3. mug — to rob
  4. wind — moving air
  5. prune — to trim
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. clip — for paper
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. last — to go on
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. mug — a cup
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. bore — to tire
  16. clip — a video
  17. mug — a face
  18. clip — to cut
  19. last — final
  20. last — finally
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. bore — to drill
  24. wind — moving air

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