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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: file · ground · straw · prune · fan · clip · season · rock

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. clip — a video
  3. ground — a position
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. season — of the year
  6. rock — a stone
  7. file — a document
  8. season — in sport
  9. clip — for paper
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. prune — to trim
  14. ground — the earth
  15. file — a line of people
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. prune — to trim
  19. rock — music
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. clip — to cut
  23. ground — crushed
  24. file — a tool

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