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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: file · drill · leaves · clip · wind · straw · scale · shower

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. shower — to wash
  3. file — a line of people
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. scale — size or range
  7. clip — for paper
  8. scale — in music
  9. file — a document
  10. drill — a practice
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. clip — to cut
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. file — a tool
  16. wind — moving air
  17. drill — army training
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. shower — rain
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. wind — moving air
  24. drill — the tool

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