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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 116 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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. clip — for paper
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. clip — a video
  8. cap — a lid
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. wake — a trail
  12. clip — to cut
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. spring — a coil
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. cap — of ice
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. cap — a hat
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. spring — the season

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