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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: track · hand · mouse · rest · land · prune · pop · clip

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. clip — a video
  3. hand — in cards
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. land — a country
  6. prune — to trim
  7. hand — help
  8. clip — to cut
  9. pop — soda
  10. track — to keep track
  11. pop — to visit
  12. prune — to trim
  13. land — to come down
  14. rest — what's left
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. land — ground
  17. clip — for paper
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. track — a song
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. pop — music
  23. track — a path
  24. rest — a break

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