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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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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: clip · file · tube · wake · lean · saw · straw · rock

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. clip — for paper
  4. lean — thin
  5. saw — the tool
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. file — a document
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. file — a tool
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. clip — to cut
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. saw — the tool
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. clip — a video
  17. wake — a trail
  18. tube — a container
  19. file — a line of people
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. lean — to bend
  22. rock — a stone
  23. tube — the underground
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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