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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.

Make a worksheet

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
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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 · straw · row · tear · firm · last · ball · toast

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. tear — from crying
  3. row — to paddle
  4. last — finally
  5. tear — from crying
  6. row — a line
  7. firm — a company
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. last — final
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. last — to go on
  13. tear — to rip
  14. firm — decided
  15. clip — for paper
  16. clip — to cut
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. firm — steady
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. clip — a video
  22. ball — a dance
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. ball — a great time

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