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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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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: bear · foot · cell · wind · clip · straw

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. cell — a phone
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. clip — for paper
  7. clip — a video
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bear — the animal
  12. cell — in biology
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. clip — to cut
  15. foot — a measure
  16. bear — the animal
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. wind — moving air

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