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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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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: hand · sharp · pass · clip · wake · prune · ground · lie

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. ground — a position
  6. hand — help
  7. clip — to cut
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. wake — a trail
  10. clip — a video
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. clip — for paper
  14. pass — a permit
  15. ground — crushed
  16. lie — to recline
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. hand — in cards
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. prune — to trim
  21. prune — to trim
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. ground — the earth
  24. pass — to spend time

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