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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: clip · mine · cap · stock · fall · wind · spell · land

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. spell — a short time
  3. cap — a hat
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. clip — to cut
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. stock — goods
  8. fall — the season
  9. wind — moving air
  10. land — a country
  11. fall — to drop
  12. clip — a video
  13. wind — moving air
  14. mine — for digging
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. cap — of ice
  17. land — to come down
  18. stock — shares
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. spell — letters
  21. fall — to drop
  22. spell — magic
  23. clip — for paper
  24. land — ground

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