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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
468
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: hide · track · clip · file · fan · kid · prune · club

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. file — a tool
  5. club — for dancing
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. club — a group
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. file — a line of people
  13. track — to keep track
  14. clip — for paper
  15. club — for golf
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. kid — child
  18. prune — to trim
  19. clip — to cut
  20. track — a song
  21. track — a path
  22. clip — a video
  23. file — a document
  24. kid — to tease

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