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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 120 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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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: rest · court · clip · pound · object · land · plane · branch

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. plane — a tool
  3. court — of a king
  4. object — to protest
  5. clip — a video
  6. land — a country
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. pound — a weight
  9. court — for sport
  10. land — to come down
  11. rest — a break
  12. court — of law
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. rest — what's left
  15. object — a thing
  16. clip — to cut
  17. branch — a division
  18. rest — what's left
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. land — ground
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. clip — for paper
  24. object — an aim

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