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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. wind — moving air
  3. clip — to cut
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. root — of a plant
  6. clip — a video
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. staff — employees
  11. roll — a list
  12. roll — a cake
  13. clip — for paper
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. root — of a word
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. toast — bread
  19. root — the cause
  20. wind — moving air
  21. staff — employees
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. board — to get on
  24. board — a committee

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