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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: leaves · cell · clip · plane · pound · present

  1. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. present — there
  3. present — a gift
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. clip — for paper
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. plane — a tool
  8. pound — a weight
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. clip — a video
  11. clip — to cut
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. present — the time now
  14. cell — a phone
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. cell — in biology

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