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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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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: bay · clip · chair · rest · land · straw · cap · wake

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. cap — a lid
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. rest — a break
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. rest — what's left
  8. clip — to cut
  9. cap — a hat
  10. chair — a leader
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. wake — a trail
  13. clip — a video
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. land — ground
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. land — a country
  20. land — to come down
  21. cap — of ice
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. clip — for paper

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