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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 116 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: lean · prune · hide · clip · bark · content · chip · wind

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. chip — to eat
  3. chip — for betting
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. lean — to bend
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. bark — to shout
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. content — the amount
  14. clip — to cut
  15. clip — for paper
  16. prune — to trim
  17. clip — a video
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. lean — thin
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. prune — to trim
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — moving air

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