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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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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: fall · bear · land · sharp · foot · clip · board · present

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. bear — the animal
  4. clip — a video
  5. land — a country
  6. clip — to cut
  7. board — to get on
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. fall — to drop
  10. clip — for paper
  11. land — to come down
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. sharp — clever
  14. foot — a measure
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. present — there
  17. board — a committee
  18. land — ground
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. fall — to drop
  21. present — a gift
  22. bear — the animal
  23. fall — the season
  24. present — the time now

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