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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: prune · press · clip · sharp · spring · present · bore · fan

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. bore — to tire
  3. present — a gift
  4. clip — for paper
  5. clip — to cut
  6. press — to push
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. press — newspapers
  11. present — there
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bore — to drill
  14. prune — to trim
  15. sharp — clever
  16. spring — of water
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. present — the time now
  19. clip — a video
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. spring — a coil
  23. press — a publisher
  24. sharp — with an edge

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