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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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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: foot · deal · file · fall · clip · lash · straw · ball

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. clip — to cut
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. clip — for paper
  6. clip — a video
  7. ball — a dance
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. fall — to drop
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. file — a tool
  16. file — a line of people
  17. ball — a great time
  18. file — a document
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. fall — the season
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. foot — a measure
  24. deal — to handle

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