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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. roll — a list
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. clip — a video
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. clip — for paper
  10. fall — to drop
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. roll — a cake
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. lean — thin
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. fall — to drop
  18. clip — to cut
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. lean — to bend
  23. fall — the season
  24. rock — a stone

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