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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: cell · present · wake · lean · fine · clip · tear · lie

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. lean — thin
  3. clip — to cut
  4. clip — a video
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. wake — a trail
  7. clip — for paper
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. fine — all right
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. lean — to bend
  12. tear — from crying
  13. lie — to recline
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. tear — to rip
  18. cell — in biology
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. tear — from crying
  21. cell — a phone
  22. present — the time now
  23. fine — high quality
  24. present — there

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