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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. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. clip — to cut
  5. pound — a weight
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. file — a line of people
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. root — of a plant
  13. root — of a word
  14. suit — in cards
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. root — the cause
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. file — a tool
  19. clip — a video
  20. suit — clothes
  21. clip — for paper
  22. snap — to click
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. file — a document

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