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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. clip — a video
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. clip — for paper
  6. capital — a city
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. clip — to cut
  9. bound — certain
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. file — a line of people
  12. file — a tool
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. capital — money
  17. bound — tied together
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. pass — a permit
  21. file — a document
  22. bound — obliged
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. fork — in a road

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