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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: cold · bore · lash · lie · root · clip · mate · prune

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. prune — to trim
  4. clip — a video
  5. bore — to tire
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. mate — a friend
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. mate — a partner
  12. clip — to cut
  13. cold — an illness
  14. clip — for paper
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. root — of a word
  17. prune — to trim
  18. root — of a plant
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. root — the cause
  21. mate — to breed
  22. cold — not warm
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. lie — to recline

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