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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: clip · foot · track · lie · bark · leaves · band · spell

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. band — a music group
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. spell — a short time
  6. lie — to recline
  7. clip — a video
  8. spell — letters
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. track — to keep track
  12. foot — a measure
  13. track — a song
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. clip — for paper
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. spell — magic
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. bark — to shout
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. band — a ring
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. track — a path

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