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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 120 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: pop · board · clip · wound · last · fall · tube · march

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. march — the month
  4. last — finally
  5. clip — a video
  6. clip — for paper
  7. clip — to cut
  8. tube — a container
  9. board — a committee
  10. fall — to drop
  11. pop — to visit
  12. last — to go on
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. march — music
  15. wound — an injury
  16. fall — the season
  17. pop — music
  18. last — final
  19. march — the month
  20. board — to get on
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. pop — soda
  23. tube — the underground
  24. fall — to drop

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