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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: ball · cell · track · clip · staff · key · perch · straw

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. track — a path
  3. clip — a video
  4. clip — to cut
  5. key — the most important part
  6. staff — employees
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. staff — a stick
  9. track — a song
  10. cell — a phone
  11. track — to keep track
  12. ball — a great time
  13. key — in music
  14. cell — in biology
  15. key — for a lock
  16. ball — a dance
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. perch — the fish
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. staff — employees
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. clip — for paper

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