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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: cue · degree · straw · clip · fall · shower · rest · bay

  1. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  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. bay — a part of the sea
  2. clip — a video
  3. degree — from a university
  4. fall — to drop
  5. degree — temperature
  6. rest — what's left
  7. degree — an amount
  8. rest — what's left
  9. rest — a break
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. cue — for pool
  13. shower — rain
  14. clip — for paper
  15. cue — a signal
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. fall — to drop
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. clip — to cut
  22. cue — a hint
  23. shower — to wash
  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