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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: last · rash · clip · fork · lie · pound · degree · hand

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. fork — in a road
  3. rash — hasty
  4. last — final
  5. degree — an amount
  6. rash — a series
  7. last — to go on
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. clip — for paper
  11. hand — in cards
  12. hand — help
  13. pound — a weight
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. degree — temperature
  16. degree — from a university
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. lie — to recline
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. last — finally
  23. clip — to cut
  24. pound — to hit hard

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