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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: sharp · tear · clip · deal · fall · bore · prune · spring

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. clip — for paper
  4. fall — to drop
  5. spring — of water
  6. tear — from crying
  7. clip — to cut
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. clip — a video
  10. bore — to drill
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fall — the season
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. deal — to handle
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. tear — to rip
  19. bore — to tire
  20. prune — to trim
  21. spring — the season
  22. sharp — clever
  23. spring — a coil
  24. tear — from crying

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