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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
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: saw · march · scale · clip · stem · leaves · track · fan

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. track — a path
  5. track — a song
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. march — music
  10. march — the month
  11. saw — the tool
  12. saw — the tool
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. stem — to come from
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. clip — for paper
  19. track — to keep track
  20. march — the month
  21. scale — in music
  22. scale — size or range
  23. clip — a video
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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