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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.

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: file · clip · can · straw · season · calf · dip · row

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. clip — a video
  3. file — a tool
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. file — a line of people
  7. clip — for paper
  8. row — to paddle
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. file — a document
  11. can — a tin
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. row — a line
  16. clip — to cut
  17. dip — to sink
  18. season — of the year
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. season — in sport
  22. can — to be able to
  23. can — a tin
  24. calf — a young animal

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