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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: pound · bark · kid · clip · sharp · fall · stick · bass

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bass — the fish
  3. clip — a video
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. clip — to cut
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. fall — to drop
  8. bass — low music
  9. fall — to drop
  10. sharp — clever
  11. pound — a weight
  12. fall — the season
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. bark — to shout
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. kid — child
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. kid — to tease
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. bass — the instrument

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