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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 · board · prune · land · firm · spring · dip · clip

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. board — to get on
  3. spring — of water
  4. firm — a company
  5. prune — to trim
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. firm — steady
  8. land — a country
  9. spring — the season
  10. lean — to bend
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — a video
  13. dip — to sink
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. spring — a coil
  16. board — a committee
  17. prune — to trim
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. land — to come down
  20. lean — thin
  21. firm — decided
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. land — ground

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