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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: prune · saw · lie · cold · clip · club · firm · wax

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. clip — to cut
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. cold — not warm
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. firm — steady
  10. firm — a company
  11. clip — a video
  12. prune — to trim
  13. cold — an illness
  14. firm — decided
  15. clip — for paper
  16. club — for golf
  17. prune — to trim
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. saw — the tool
  20. wax — to grow
  21. lie — to recline
  22. saw — the tool
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. club — for dancing

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