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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: clip · cap · mug · rule · chest · straw

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. clip — a video
  3. mug — a face
  4. chest — of your body
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. mug — to rob
  7. clip — for paper
  8. rule — government
  9. chest — of your body
  10. cap — a lid
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. clip — to cut
  13. chest — a box
  14. cap — of ice
  15. mug — a cup
  16. rule — a law
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. cap — a hat

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