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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: clip · wound · rest · mark · bass · kid · tube · fine

  1. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. rest — what's left
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. clip — to cut
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. clip — a video
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. rest — a break
  10. kid — to tease
  11. tube — a container
  12. bass — the fish
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. tube — the underground
  15. bass — low music
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. kid — child
  18. rest — what's left
  19. wound — an injury
  20. mark — a grade
  21. clip — for paper
  22. wound — an injury
  23. fine — all right
  24. fine — high quality

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