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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: spell · face · game · saw · firm · clip · straw · track

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. spell — magic
  3. face — to point toward
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. game — a match
  6. saw — the tool
  7. saw — the tool
  8. track — to keep track
  9. track — a path
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. spell — a short time
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. game — wild animals
  14. spell — letters
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. face — to confront
  17. firm — decided
  18. track — a song
  19. firm — a company
  20. clip — to cut
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. clip — a video
  23. face — part of the head
  24. firm — steady

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