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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: clip · wake · straw · shower · bark · capital · firm · club

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. shower — rain
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. clip — for paper
  7. firm — decided
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. firm — a company
  10. shower — to wash
  11. capital — a city
  12. clip — to cut
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. club — for dancing
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. firm — steady
  19. club — a group
  20. wake — a trail
  21. capital — money
  22. bark — to shout
  23. club — for golf
  24. straw — a straw man

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