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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 120 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: deal · sharp · mug · club · leaves · prune · bark · clip

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. prune — to trim
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. mug — to rob
  5. bark — to shout
  6. clip — for paper
  7. sharp — clever
  8. club — for dancing
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. mug — a cup
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. clip — to cut
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. club — a group
  17. club — for golf
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. clip — a video
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. deal — to handle
  24. mug — a face

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