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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: tube · game · hide · mark · clip · branch · pound · fall

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. clip — a video
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. clip — for paper
  5. tube — a container
  6. fall — to drop
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. game — a match
  11. fall — to drop
  12. mark — a trace
  13. tube — the underground
  14. fall — the season
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. mark — a grade
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. branch — a division
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. clip — to cut
  24. game — wild animals

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