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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. clip — a video
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. cap — a hat
  5. rest — what's left
  6. spring — a coil
  7. clip — to cut
  8. club — for golf
  9. spring — of water
  10. club — for dancing
  11. fall — the season
  12. fall — to drop
  13. spell — a short time
  14. rest — what's left
  15. fall — to drop
  16. rest — a break
  17. clip — for paper
  18. spell — magic
  19. club — a group
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. cap — a lid
  23. cap — of ice
  24. spring — the season

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