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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 116 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: fall · bound · pop · bowl · cell · land · clip · pitch

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  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. fall — the season
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. bound — obliged
  5. land — to come down
  6. land — ground
  7. bound — certain
  8. land — a country
  9. clip — a video
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. bound — tied together
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. pitch — completely
  15. pop — music
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cell — in biology
  18. clip — to cut
  19. pop — soda
  20. cell — a phone
  21. fall — to drop
  22. pop — to visit
  23. clip — for paper
  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