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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: rock · stand · wave · kick · rest · file · clip · hand

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. rest — what's left
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. file — a document
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. stand — to bear
  9. rock — a stone
  10. clip — to cut
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. rest — what's left
  13. rock — music
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. file — a tool
  18. clip — a video
  19. clip — for paper
  20. hand — help
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. hand — in cards
  23. kick — in football
  24. file — a line of people

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