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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. clip — for paper
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. bore — to tire
  7. cap — a hat
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fall — the season
  10. cap — a lid
  11. bore — to drill
  12. fall — to drop
  13. clip — a video
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. wake — a trail
  17. clip — to cut
  18. cap — of ice

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