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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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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: straw · wind · clip · firm · kid · track · fall · wake

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. clip — for paper
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. wind — moving air
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. firm — decided
  9. clip — a video
  10. firm — steady
  11. wake — a trail
  12. track — a song
  13. fall — to drop
  14. firm — a company
  15. kid — child
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. kid — to tease
  18. track — a path
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. wind — moving air
  21. track — to keep track
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. clip — to cut
  24. fall — the season

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