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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: row · toast · pass · pop · wound · scale · saw · clip

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. pass — a permit
  4. clip — for paper
  5. scale — in music
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. clip — a video
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. pop — soda
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. toast — bread
  12. pop — music
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. scale — size or range
  18. saw — the tool
  19. pop — to visit
  20. clip — to cut
  21. row — to paddle
  22. wound — an injury
  23. row — a line
  24. saw — the tool

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