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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: clip · prune · hide · pitcher · object · lie · cold · bulb

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. object — a thing
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. clip — a video
  12. bulb — for light
  13. cold — not warm
  14. clip — to cut
  15. bulb — for light
  16. prune — to trim
  17. cold — an illness
  18. object — to protest
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. object — an aim
  21. lie — to recline
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. prune — to trim
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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