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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: wind · hand · charge · clip · bore · board · kick · prune

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. board — to get on
  3. bore — to tire
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. prune — to trim
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. wind — moving air
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. clip — for paper
  11. board — a committee
  12. charge — a price
  13. charge — electricity
  14. charge — in control
  15. kick — in football
  16. bore — to drill
  17. hand — help
  18. clip — a video
  19. wind — moving air
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. clip — to cut
  22. hand — in cards
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. board — a flat piece

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