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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: present · drill · capital · prune · pass · pound · clip · mug

  1. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. present — there
  3. clip — for paper
  4. mug — a cup
  5. mug — a face
  6. drill — a practice
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. drill — army training
  9. capital — a city
  10. prune — to trim
  11. prune — to trim
  12. clip — a video
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. present — a gift
  16. mug — to rob
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. capital — money
  19. present — the time now
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. clip — to cut
  23. pound — a weight
  24. drill — the tool

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