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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: clip · racket · dip · rock · march · kid · band · pound

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. dip — to sink
  4. rock — music
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. band — a music group
  8. kid — to tease
  9. march — the month
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. clip — to cut
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. pound — a weight
  15. march — music
  16. rock — a stone
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. clip — a video
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. band — a ring
  21. clip — for paper
  22. march — the month
  23. kid — child
  24. dip — a sauce

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