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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: stick · bound · fine · date · clip · rash · foot · tear

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. clip — a video
  3. fine — high quality
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. tear — from crying
  9. clip — for paper
  10. tear — from crying
  11. foot — a measure
  12. bound — tied together
  13. date — the fruit
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. bound — obliged
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. clip — to cut
  19. rash — a series
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. rash — hasty
  22. tear — to rip
  23. bound — certain
  24. foot — part of the body

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