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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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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 · fine · march · wind · pound · fall · bound · mate

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wind — moving air
  3. clip — a video
  4. fine — high quality
  5. mate — a friend
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. clip — for paper
  8. mate — a partner
  9. march — music
  10. bound — tied together
  11. clip — to cut
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — to drop
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. fine — all right
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. march — the month
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. bound — obliged
  20. pound — a weight
  21. fall — the season
  22. bound — certain
  23. mate — to breed
  24. march — the month

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