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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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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: bay · pound · straw · clip · fan · rule · sharp · firm

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. sharp — clever
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. pound — a weight
  6. clip — for paper
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. firm — a company
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. firm — decided
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. firm — steady
  17. rule — a law
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. clip — to cut
  21. rule — government
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. clip — a video

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