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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. mark — a grade
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. cue — a signal
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. mark — a trace
  9. clip — for paper
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. lean — to bend
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. cue — for pool
  16. cue — a hint
  17. wind — moving air
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. wind — moving air
  21. clip — to cut
  22. clip — a video
  23. lean — thin
  24. fan — a supporter

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