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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. file — a tool
  3. ball — a great time
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. present — a gift
  6. ball — a dance
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — for paper
  11. kick — in football
  12. file — a line of people
  13. present — there
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. present — the time now
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. file — a document
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. clip — to cut
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. ball — a round shape

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