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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.

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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 · cue · clip · rest · cap · file · degree · cabinet

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. rest — what's left
  3. file — a tool
  4. cap — a hat
  5. degree — from a university
  6. clip — for paper
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. cue — a hint
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. cue — a signal
  11. clip — a video
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. degree — temperature
  14. cap — of ice
  15. cap — a lid
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. degree — an amount
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. cue — for pool
  21. clip — to cut
  22. file — a document
  23. rest — what's left
  24. file — a line of people

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