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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: spell · fine · lean · pound · land · bound · tear · clip

  1. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. pound — a weight
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. spell — magic
  5. land — ground
  6. spell — a short time
  7. spell — letters
  8. lean — thin
  9. fine — all right
  10. fine — high quality
  11. bound — tied together
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. land — to come down
  14. tear — to rip
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — from crying
  17. clip — to cut
  18. clip — a video
  19. bound — certain
  20. lean — to bend
  21. clip — for paper
  22. bound — obliged
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. land — a country

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