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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: spring · land · clip · file · perch · straw · press · wax

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. file — a document
  3. clip — to cut
  4. file — a tool
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. land — ground
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. clip — a video
  10. wax — to grow
  11. press — newspapers
  12. press — a publisher
  13. land — a country
  14. clip — for paper
  15. spring — a coil
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. press — to push
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. spring — the season
  20. perch — the fish
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. file — a line of people
  24. land — to come down

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