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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.

Make a worksheet

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: clip · mate · row · cold · straw · can · spell · kick

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. spell — letters
  4. spell — magic
  5. row — a line
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. can — a tin
  9. clip — to cut
  10. mate — to breed
  11. can — to be able to
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. clip — for paper
  14. can — a tin
  15. mate — a friend
  16. kick — in football
  17. cold — an illness
  18. clip — a video
  19. mate — a partner
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. cold — not warm
  22. row — to paddle
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. kick — a thrill

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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