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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: leaves · straw · bowl · clip · roll · swing · nail · rest

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. swing — in golf
  4. rest — what's left
  5. roll — a list
  6. clip — a video
  7. rest — a break
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. swing — to play on
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. swing — music
  13. clip — for paper
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. clip — to cut
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. rest — what's left
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. roll — a cake
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. bowl — to roll

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