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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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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: fork · cell · clip · straw · rush · firm

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. clip — for paper
  3. cell — in biology
  4. clip — a video
  5. cell — a phone
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. firm — decided
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. clip — to cut
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. firm — steady
  14. rush — hurry
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. firm — a company
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. fork — in a road

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