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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: tube · wind · straw · squash · clip · roll · drill · snap

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. wind — moving air
  3. clip — for paper
  4. clip — to cut
  5. drill — army training
  6. drill — a practice
  7. squash — to crush
  8. tube — the underground
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. roll — a cake
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. roll — a list
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. drill — the tool
  20. tube — a container
  21. squash — the sport
  22. wind — moving air
  23. clip — a video
  24. snap — to click

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