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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.

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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: kid · clip · bear · can · prune · snap · arm · straw

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. snap — to click
  5. kid — to tease
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. prune — to trim
  8. clip — for paper
  9. prune — to trim
  10. bear — the animal
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. clip — to cut
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. bear — the animal
  18. clip — a video
  19. kid — child
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. can — to be able to
  23. can — a tin
  24. can — a tin

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