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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: fall · nail · content · row · leaves · clip · trunk · lie

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. clip — a video
  7. clip — for paper
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. lie — to recline
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. fall — the season
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. clip — to cut
  20. fall — to drop
  21. row — a line
  22. content — the amount
  23. row — to paddle
  24. fall — to drop

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