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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 120 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
468
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: land · bulb · clip · fall · racket · pit · track · mine

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. land — ground
  3. fall — to drop
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. clip — a video
  6. fall — the season
  7. pit — in a race
  8. pit — a hole
  9. track — a song
  10. clip — to cut
  11. land — a country
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. track — a path
  15. bulb — for light
  16. mine — for digging
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. bulb — for light
  20. clip — for paper
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. track — to keep track
  24. land — to come down

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