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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 120 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: content · prune · lie · tear · staff · stick · arm · march

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. tear — from crying
  3. staff — employees
  4. prune — to trim
  5. tear — to rip
  6. march — music
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. content — happy
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. staff — a stick
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. content — the amount
  15. march — the month
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. staff — employees
  19. prune — to trim
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. tear — from crying
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. lie — to recline
  24. march — the month

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