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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at 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. spell — a short time
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. file — a document
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. band — a ring
  7. band — a music group
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. spell — letters
  10. spell — magic
  11. file — a line of people
  12. clip — a video
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. clip — to cut
  17. toast — bread
  18. file — a tool
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. clip — for paper
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  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