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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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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: fine · march · land · last · calf · lean · clip · nail

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. last — final
  3. clip — a video
  4. march — music
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. fine — all right
  8. lean — thin
  9. clip — for paper
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. land — a country
  12. land — ground
  13. lean — to bend
  14. clip — to cut
  15. last — to go on
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. march — the month
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. march — the month
  23. land — to come down
  24. fine — high quality

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