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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
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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: cabinet · march · leaves · bat · lie · clip · spell · row

  1. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. march — the month
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. lie — to recline
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. clip — to cut
  11. clip — a video
  12. march — the month
  13. bat — the animal
  14. row — a line
  15. spell — magic
  16. spell — letters
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. row — to paddle
  22. march — music
  23. clip — for paper
  24. spell — a short time

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