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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: land · ball · prune · clip · fan · drill · chair · swing

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. prune — to trim
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. swing — to play on
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. swing — music
  8. drill — the tool
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. clip — a video
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. prune — to trim
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. drill — a practice
  15. clip — to cut
  16. ball — a dance
  17. swing — in golf
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. land — a country
  20. land — ground
  21. drill — army training
  22. ball — a great time
  23. clip — for paper
  24. land — to come down

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