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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: lash · fine · file · straw · scale · land · squash · clip

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. clip — a video
  3. squash — the sport
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. fine — high quality
  7. scale — size or range
  8. file — a line of people
  9. file — a tool
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. squash — to crush
  13. land — a country
  14. file — a document
  15. scale — in music
  16. clip — to cut
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. fine — all right
  21. land — to come down
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. land — ground
  24. fine — a penalty

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