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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 116 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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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: bank · calf · clip · fall · ground · dip · field · land

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. fall — the season
  3. field — farmland
  4. bank — for money
  5. fall — to drop
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. land — ground
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. clip — for paper
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. bank — for money
  12. ground — crushed
  13. land — a country
  14. land — to come down
  15. dip — to sink
  16. ground — the earth
  17. field — a subject
  18. clip — a video
  19. bank — of a river
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. field — for sport
  22. clip — to cut
  23. fall — to drop
  24. ground — a position

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