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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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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 · drill · ground · spring · sharp · wake · stem · lie

  1. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. spring — a coil
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. clip — to cut
  5. wake — a trail
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. clip — for paper
  8. drill — the tool
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. ground — a position
  13. clip — a video
  14. spring — of water
  15. ground — crushed
  16. spring — the season
  17. lie — to recline
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. ground — the earth
  20. drill — army training
  21. drill — a practice
  22. stem — to come from
  23. sharp — clever
  24. lie — an untruth

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