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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 116 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: bear · pound · scale · clip · prune · hide · straw · wax

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. bear — the animal
  6. clip — a video
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. bear — the animal
  9. scale — size or range
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — to cut
  13. scale — in music
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. wax — to grow
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. pound — a weight
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. prune — to trim

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