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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. mine — for digging
  5. cue — for pool
  6. file — a tool
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. clip — for paper
  9. suit — to fit
  10. suit — clothes
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. file — a document
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. cue — a hint
  16. clip — a video
  17. pass — a permit
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. clip — to cut
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. cue — a signal
  23. file — a line of people
  24. pass — to spend time

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