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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: leaves · wind · clip · mate · pitcher · fall · date · bound

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. fall — to drop
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. fall — to drop
  6. clip — to cut
  7. clip — a video
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. fall — the season
  13. clip — for paper
  14. bound — obliged
  15. mate — a friend
  16. wind — moving air
  17. mate — to breed
  18. bound — tied together
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. date — the fruit
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bound — certain
  24. mate — a partner

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