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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: staff · bound · clip · prune · swing · pitcher · mine · jam

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. prune — to trim
  3. swing — music
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. bound — tied together
  7. mine — for digging
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. bound — obliged
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. staff — employees
  12. staff — a stick
  13. clip — for paper
  14. clip — to cut
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. bound — certain
  18. prune — to trim
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. clip — a video
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. swing — in golf
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. swing — to play on

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