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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: chip · tear · club · bore · lie · kick · stem · prune

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. chip — to eat
  3. tear — from crying
  4. stem — to come from
  5. prune — to trim
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. tear — to rip
  8. tear — from crying
  9. bore — to drill
  10. club — for dancing
  11. kick — in football
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. lie — to recline
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. bore — to tire
  17. club — for golf
  18. club — a group
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. chip — for betting
  24. chip — in a computer

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