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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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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 · land · clip · chair · bowl · cell · swing · band

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. land — ground
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. clip — a video
  7. chair — a leader
  8. swing — in golf
  9. clip — for paper
  10. cell — a phone
  11. swing — to play on
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. swing — music
  16. land — to come down
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. land — a country
  19. band — a music group
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. band — a ring
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. clip — to cut
  24. leaves — of a tree

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