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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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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: can · leaves · land · field · clip · net · arm · object

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. object — to protest
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. land — a country
  5. object — a thing
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. land — to come down
  8. land — ground
  9. can — to be able to
  10. clip — a video
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. field — farmland
  13. field — for sport
  14. clip — for paper
  15. can — a tin
  16. clip — to cut
  17. net — after costs
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. net — in sport
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. can — a tin
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. net — for catching
  24. field — a subject

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