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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: lean · sharp · dip · prune · clip · patient · row · lie

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. dip — to sink
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. lean — thin
  9. lie — to recline
  10. clip — a video
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. row — a line
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. prune — to trim
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. clip — for paper
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. sharp — clever
  21. lean — to bend
  22. row — to paddle
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. clip — to cut

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