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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: pound · leaves · clip · lie · perch · stem · cell · hand

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. hand — in cards
  3. pound — a weight
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. hand — help
  6. lie — to recline
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. clip — to cut
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. cell — in biology
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. perch — the fish
  15. clip — a video
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. stem — to come from
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. cell — a phone
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. cell — in a prison

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