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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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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: face · land · net · foot · fall · calf · spring · clip

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. spring — of water
  3. net — for catching
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. clip — to cut
  6. spring — a coil
  7. land — a country
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. fall — the season
  10. land — ground
  11. face — part of the head
  12. clip — for paper
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. fall — to drop
  16. spring — the season
  17. fall — to drop
  18. net — after costs
  19. clip — a video
  20. foot — a measure
  21. land — to come down
  22. face — to confront
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. face — to point toward

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