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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: rule · saw · clip · snap · prune · chest · key · plane

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. clip — to cut
  4. snap — to click
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. chest — a box
  7. saw — the tool
  8. rule — a law
  9. key — the most important part
  10. key — for a lock
  11. saw — the tool
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. prune — to trim
  15. chest — of your body
  16. clip — a video
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. prune — to trim
  19. key — in music
  20. clip — for paper
  21. plane — a tool
  22. chest — of your body
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. rule — to rule out

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