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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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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 · kick · clip · chest · rule · vault · racket · board

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  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. chest — of your body
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. prune — to trim
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. clip — to cut
  7. prune — to trim
  8. kick — in football
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. rule — a law
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. board — to get on
  14. clip — for paper
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. board — a committee
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. vault — a safe
  19. clip — a video
  20. chest — of your body
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. rule — government
  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