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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
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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: scale · wound · tube · pound · shower · pop · clip · snap

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. wound — an injury
  3. tube — a container
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. scale — size or range
  6. clip — a video
  7. pop — soda
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. tube — the underground
  11. pop — music
  12. shower — rain
  13. clip — for paper
  14. snap — to click
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — to wash
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. clip — to cut
  20. pop — to visit
  21. pound — a weight
  22. scale — in music
  23. wound — an injury
  24. tube — in a tire

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