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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: pop · leaves · pound · tear · deal · clip

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. tear — to rip
  3. clip — a video
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. deal — to handle
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. clip — to cut
  9. clip — for paper
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. pop — music
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. pop — soda
  15. pop — to visit
  16. pound — a weight
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — from crying

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