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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: lie · prune · hand · plane · last · spell · board · tear

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — to trim
  4. tear — from crying
  5. spell — magic
  6. last — final
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. spell — a short time
  9. tear — to rip
  10. spell — letters
  11. last — finally
  12. last — to go on
  13. hand — in cards
  14. board — a committee
  15. tear — from crying
  16. board — to get on
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. lie — to recline
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. plane — a tool
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. board — a flat piece

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