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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: wound · tube · sharp · clip · tear · mate · hide · bass

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. tear — to rip
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. clip — for paper
  6. bass — low music
  7. mate — a partner
  8. tube — the underground
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. bass — the fish
  14. clip — a video
  15. tube — a container
  16. tear — from crying
  17. wound — an injury
  18. sharp — clever
  19. mate — a friend
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. mate — to breed

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