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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
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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: land · clip · lean · nail · bay · mine · rash · pound

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. clip — a video
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. mine — for digging
  6. pound — a weight
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. lean — to bend
  11. clip — to cut
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. rash — hasty
  14. land — to come down
  15. land — ground
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. clip — for paper
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. rash — a series
  21. lean — thin
  22. land — a country
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. nail — for a hammer

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