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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.

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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 · band · rule · clip · craft · degree · stem · arm

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. craft — a skill
  3. degree — from a university
  4. clip — for paper
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. clip — a video
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. prune — to trim
  10. craft — boats
  11. rule — government
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. degree — an amount
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. band — a music group
  16. band — a ring
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. degree — temperature
  21. clip — to cut
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. rule — a law
  24. stem — to come from

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