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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: cap · clip · straw · file · drill · face · suit · season

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. face — to point toward
  3. cap — a hat
  4. file — a tool
  5. season — in sport
  6. suit — in cards
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. suit — to fit
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — for paper
  11. clip — to cut
  12. face — to confront
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. file — a document
  15. cap — a lid
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. drill — army training
  18. season — of the year
  19. face — part of the head
  20. drill — a practice
  21. suit — clothes
  22. file — a line of people
  23. drill — the tool
  24. season — to add flavour

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