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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 116 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: bay · pound · clip · tube · march · field · chip · leaves

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. clip — to cut
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. march — the month
  7. pound — a weight
  8. field — farmland
  9. tube — the underground
  10. march — music
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. chip — to eat
  13. clip — a video
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. chip — for betting
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. field — for sport
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. field — a subject
  20. tube — a container
  21. march — the month
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. leaves — to go away

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