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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.

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: leaves · fan · racket · arm · tube · land · cell · clip

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. tube — the underground
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. clip — for paper
  10. land — a country
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. land — ground
  15. clip — a video
  16. cell — a phone
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. land — to come down
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. cell — in biology
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. clip — to cut

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