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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: wound · wake · chest · pass · fine · sharp · clip · stock

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. clip — for paper
  3. sharp — clever
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. wound — an injury
  6. chest — of your body
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. pass — a permit
  10. stock — shares
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. fine — all right
  15. clip — to cut
  16. chest — a box
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. wake — a trail
  22. fine — high quality
  23. stock — goods
  24. chest — of your body

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