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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.

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468
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: lean · clip · pitch · leaves · bass · ball · fall · cell

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. lean — thin
  3. bass — low music
  4. clip — to cut
  5. cell — a phone
  6. pitch — completely
  7. clip — a video
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fall — to drop
  11. bass — the fish
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. ball — a dance
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. cell — in biology
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. lean — to bend
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. ball — a great time
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. clip — for paper

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