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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. clip — a video
  3. pop — to visit
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. present — the time now
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. pop — soda
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. hand — help
  12. clip — for paper
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. hand — in cards
  15. cell — a phone
  16. snap — to click
  17. present — there
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. present — a gift
  21. clip — to cut
  22. cell — in biology
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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