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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.

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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: last · bay · bound · mark · stand · clip · ground · tear

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. ground — crushed
  3. bound — certain
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — from crying
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. clip — for paper
  9. tear — to rip
  10. ground — the earth
  11. clip — to cut
  12. bound — obliged
  13. stand — to bear
  14. last — finally
  15. bound — tied together
  16. last — final
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. last — to go on
  22. clip — a video
  23. ground — a position
  24. mark — a trace

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