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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.

Make a worksheet

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: mine · prune · leaves · chair · bowl · clip · lie · coach

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. chair — a leader
  3. mine — for digging
  4. lie — to recline
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. clip — to cut
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. prune — to trim
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. prune — to trim
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. clip — a video

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