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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. 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. rush — hurry
  2. clip — for paper
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. clip — a video
  5. mine — for digging
  6. saw — the tool
  7. ground — the earth
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. clip — to cut
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. ground — a position
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. saw — the tool
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. ground — crushed
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. 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