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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. mark — a grade
  3. tube — a container
  4. pop — soda
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. wound — an injury
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. clip — for paper
  9. mark — a trace
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. clip — to cut
  12. clip — a video
  13. wound — an injury
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. pop — to visit
  16. pound — a weight
  17. chip — to eat
  18. march — the month
  19. chip — for betting
  20. tube — the underground
  21. march — the month
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. march — music
  24. pop — music

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