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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 116 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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. mark — a trace
  3. clip — a video
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. rule — government
  8. club — for dancing
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. rule — a law
  13. clip — for paper
  14. club — a group
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. file — a document
  18. file — a tool
  19. clip — to cut
  20. mark — a grade
  21. file — a line of people
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. club — for golf
  24. wake — a trail

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