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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 120 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: wound · can · chest · prune · clip · object · track · kick

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. clip — for paper
  5. can — a tin
  6. clip — to cut
  7. object — a thing
  8. track — a song
  9. prune — to trim
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. chest — a box
  13. kick — in football
  14. clip — a video
  15. object — to protest
  16. wound — an injury
  17. chest — of your body
  18. wound — an injury
  19. chest — of your body
  20. track — a path
  21. can — a tin
  22. can — to be able to
  23. track — to keep track
  24. object — an aim

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