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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: fine · bat · track · clip · wave · cell · bear · straw

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bat — the animal
  3. track — a song
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. fine — all right
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. fine — high quality
  11. clip — a video
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. track — a path
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. cell — in biology
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cell — a phone
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. bear — the animal
  21. track — to keep track
  22. bear — the animal
  23. clip — for paper
  24. clip — to cut

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