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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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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. clip — for paper
  3. fall — to drop
  4. wound — an injury
  5. clip — a video
  6. fork — in a road
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. fall — the season
  9. lean — to bend
  10. fall — to drop
  11. wound — an injury
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. lean — thin
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. clip — to cut
  18. straw — dry grass

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