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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. clip — to cut
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. root — of a word
  6. tear — to rip
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. board — a committee
  9. staff — employees
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. tear — from crying
  12. spring — a coil
  13. root — the cause
  14. rest — a break
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — for paper
  17. rest — what's left
  18. staff — employees
  19. spring — of water
  20. board — to get on
  21. spring — the season
  22. tear — from crying
  23. root — of a plant
  24. rest — what's left

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