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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 · chair · fan · saw · rock · clip · net · plane

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. rock — music
  5. net — after costs
  6. saw — the tool
  7. prune — to trim
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. clip — for paper
  10. rock — a stone
  11. plane — a tool
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. net — for catching
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. clip — to cut
  18. saw — the tool
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. chair — a leader
  22. clip — a video
  23. net — in sport
  24. prune — to trim

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