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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. file — a document
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. last — final
  9. clip — for paper
  10. clip — a video
  11. rock — a stone
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. last — to go on
  15. file — a line of people
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. clip — to cut
  18. file — a tool
  19. branch — a division
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. chair — a leader
  23. last — finally
  24. rock — music

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