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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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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: season · ground · calf · fall · tube · last · march · clip

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. clip — a video
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. last — to go on
  6. tube — a container
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. clip — to cut
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. tube — the underground
  11. fall — the season
  12. ground — crushed
  13. clip — for paper
  14. fall — to drop
  15. last — finally
  16. march — music
  17. season — of the year
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. last — final
  20. season — in sport
  21. march — the month
  22. ground — a position
  23. march — the month
  24. fall — to drop

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