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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: temple · spell · ground · clip · object · sharp · pitch · prune

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. object — a thing
  5. spell — letters
  6. ground — the earth
  7. spell — a short time
  8. clip — a video
  9. prune — to trim
  10. ground — crushed
  11. clip — to cut
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. sharp — clever
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. spell — magic
  17. pitch — completely
  18. clip — for paper
  19. object — an aim
  20. prune — to trim
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. ground — a position
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. prune — the fruit

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