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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.

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: clip · fine · object · snap · march · tear · tube · spell

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. tear — to rip
  3. tear — from crying
  4. fine — all right
  5. tube — a container
  6. clip — a video
  7. march — the month
  8. tear — from crying
  9. clip — to cut
  10. spell — magic
  11. object — to protest
  12. snap — to click
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. spell — letters
  15. object — a thing
  16. spell — a short time
  17. tube — the underground
  18. march — the month
  19. march — music
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. object — an aim
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. clip — for paper
  24. tube — in a tire

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