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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.

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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: stand · clip · straw · prune · cabinet · wind · cue · content

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. cue — a hint
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. wind — moving air
  6. clip — to cut
  7. prune — to trim
  8. stand — to bear
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. content — happy
  17. clip — for paper
  18. prune — to trim
  19. cue — a signal
  20. content — the amount
  21. cue — for pool
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. wind — moving air
  24. clip — a video

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