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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: fall · tear · mine · lie · board · season · sharp · prune

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. season — of the year
  3. fall — to drop
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — from crying
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. fall — to drop
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. mine — for digging
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. board — to get on
  13. prune — to trim
  14. sharp — clever
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. lie — to recline
  19. tear — to rip
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. fall — the season
  22. season — in sport
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. prune — to trim

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