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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
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: prune · file · mark · shower · bear · clip · spring · club

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. shower — to wash
  4. file — a tool
  5. file — a document
  6. clip — for paper
  7. prune — to trim
  8. club — a group
  9. prune — to trim
  10. club — for dancing
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. shower — rain
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bear — the animal
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. spring — of water
  17. mark — a trace
  18. file — a line of people
  19. mark — a grade
  20. clip — a video
  21. spring — the season
  22. clip — to cut
  23. club — for golf
  24. prune — the fruit

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