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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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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: toast · clip · hide · tear · file · lie · straw · cabinet

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. file — a document
  5. toast — bread
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. clip — for paper
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. tear — from crying
  11. clip — a video
  12. tear — to rip
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. file — a tool
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. file — a line of people
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. clip — to cut
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. tear — from crying
  24. lie — to recline

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