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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: bowl · cell · land · firm · leaves · clip · track · fine

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. firm — steady
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. clip — to cut
  7. firm — a company
  8. track — to keep track
  9. land — a country
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. cell — in biology
  12. clip — for paper
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. land — to come down
  16. track — a path
  17. cell — a phone
  18. land — ground
  19. firm — decided
  20. clip — a video
  21. fine — all right
  22. track — a song
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. leaves — of a tree

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