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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 120 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: bark · race · clip · wind · pass · pound

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. clip — to cut
  3. race — humankind
  4. pass — a permit
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. wind — moving air
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. clip — for paper
  10. bark — to shout
  11. clip — a video
  12. race — the arms race
  13. wind — moving air
  14. race — a contest
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. pound — to hit hard

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