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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. clip — to cut
  3. clip — a video
  4. net — after costs
  5. pop — soda
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. pop — music
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. track — to keep track
  11. object — a thing
  12. pop — to visit
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. clip — for paper
  15. object — an aim
  16. net — in sport
  17. wound — an injury
  18. track — a song
  19. wound — an injury
  20. object — to protest
  21. net — for catching
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. pound — a weight
  24. track — a path

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