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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: clip · march · lean · land · pitcher · wind · ruler · face

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. clip — for paper
  3. face — to confront
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. face — to point toward
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. lean — to bend
  8. march — the month
  9. clip — a video
  10. land — a country
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. march — the month
  14. land — to come down
  15. face — part of the head
  16. wind — moving air
  17. march — music
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. wind — moving air
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. clip — to cut
  24. lean — thin

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