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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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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: land · lie · clip · can · swing · cap · chair · root

  1. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. land — a country
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. can — a tin
  5. clip — to cut
  6. chair — a leader
  7. can — to be able to
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. swing — in golf
  10. land — to come down
  11. cap — a hat
  12. clip — for paper
  13. clip — a video
  14. swing — to play on
  15. land — ground
  16. root — of a word
  17. root — the cause
  18. lie — to recline
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. cap — a lid
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. root — of a plant
  23. cap — of ice
  24. swing — music

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