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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 116 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 · charge · ruler · spring · stand · straw · track · clip

  1. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. clip — a video
  3. fall — to drop
  4. stand — to bear
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. clip — to cut
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. charge — electricity
  9. track — a path
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. fall — to drop
  13. track — a song
  14. charge — in control
  15. fall — the season
  16. spring — of water
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. charge — a price
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. clip — for paper
  22. spring — the season
  23. track — to keep track
  24. spring — a coil

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