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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 · hide · mine · bulb · fan · sharp · lie · chest

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. clip — to cut
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. sharp — clever
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. lie — to recline
  11. bulb — for light
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. mine — for digging
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. clip — a video
  18. clip — for paper
  19. bulb — for light
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — of your body
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. chest — a box

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