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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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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: face · tear · wax · squash · clip · bound · pound · shower

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. bound — certain
  3. pound — a weight
  4. shower — rain
  5. clip — to cut
  6. tear — to rip
  7. bound — tied together
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. clip — for paper
  10. bound — obliged
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. squash — to crush
  14. face — part of the head
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. tear — from crying
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. shower — to wash
  19. face — to point toward
  20. wax — to grow
  21. squash — the sport
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. tear — from crying
  24. face — to confront

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