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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 120 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: cell · wave · scale · clip · leaves · straw · object · present

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. clip — to cut
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. object — an aim
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. present — there
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. cell — a phone
  12. object — to protest
  13. cell — in biology
  14. scale — size or range
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. object — a thing
  18. clip — for paper
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. clip — a video
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. scale — in music
  23. present — the time now
  24. cell — in a prison

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