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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: saw · fall · bulb · pound · stock · wound · mark · clip

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. bulb — for light
  3. pound — a weight
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. fall — the season
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. saw — the tool
  9. clip — to cut
  10. mark — a grade
  11. mark — a trace
  12. fall — to drop
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. clip — a video
  18. clip — for paper
  19. fall — to drop
  20. saw — the tool
  21. stock — goods
  22. bulb — for light
  23. wound — an injury
  24. stock — shares

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