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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.

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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: snap · clip · kid · fine · march · tube · fork · scale

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. fine — all right
  3. fork — in a road
  4. kid — to tease
  5. kid — child
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. snap — to click
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. tube — a container
  10. fine — high quality
  11. clip — to cut
  12. tube — the underground
  13. clip — a video
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. scale — size or range
  17. march — the month
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. march — the month
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. scale — in music
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. clip — for paper

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