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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. clip — a video
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. clip — for paper
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. roll — a list
  12. object — an aim
  13. ground — crushed
  14. clip — to cut
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. net — after costs
  17. object — a thing
  18. ground — the earth
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. wind — moving air
  21. object — to protest
  22. ground — a position
  23. net — for catching
  24. net — in sport

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