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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.

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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: saw · clip · fall · arm · firm · tear · suit · land

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. land — to come down
  3. clip — a video
  4. tear — to rip
  5. land — a country
  6. firm — a company
  7. tear — from crying
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. clip — for paper
  10. saw — the tool
  11. fall — to drop
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. suit — clothes
  14. suit — in cards
  15. fall — the season
  16. fall — to drop
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. firm — steady
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. saw — the tool
  21. tear — from crying
  22. clip — to cut
  23. land — ground
  24. suit — to fit

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