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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: clip · roll · mark · straw · file · pound · swing · bound

  1. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. clip — to cut
  3. file — a tool
  4. roll — a list
  5. bound — certain
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. mark — a grade
  9. pound — a weight
  10. clip — a video
  11. bound — obliged
  12. roll — a cake
  13. swing — to play on
  14. bound — tied together
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. swing — in golf
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. clip — for paper
  19. file — a line of people
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. file — a document
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. swing — music
  24. mark — to pay attention

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