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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 116 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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. clip — for paper
  3. fine — high quality
  4. ground — a position
  5. saw — the tool
  6. band — a music group
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. land — a country
  10. land — to come down
  11. clip — a video
  12. pound — a weight
  13. clip — to cut
  14. band — a ring
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. ground — the earth
  17. fine — all right
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. ground — crushed
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. land — ground
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. fine — a penalty

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