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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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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: lie · sharp · clip · jam · hide · content · prune · hand

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. prune — to trim
  4. clip — for paper
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. prune — to trim
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. clip — a video
  9. lie — to recline
  10. content — the amount
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. sharp — clever
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. clip — to cut
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. hand — help
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. hand — in cards

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