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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. clip — a video
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. clip — to cut
  6. pitch — completely
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. wax — to grow
  10. fall — to drop
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. foot — a measure
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. squash — the sport
  17. fall — the season
  18. file — a tool
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. file — a document
  21. clip — for paper
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. squash — to crush
  24. fall — to drop

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