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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: fall · scale · toast · clip · cap · current · straw · dip

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. clip — a video
  3. scale — size or range
  4. fall — the season
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. toast — bread
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fall — to drop
  9. clip — for paper
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. current — electric
  12. cap — of ice
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. scale — in music
  15. current — happening now
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. dip — to sink
  18. current — of water
  19. cap — a lid
  20. clip — to cut
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. dip — to dunk

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