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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: clip · tear · staff · chip · date · craft

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. date — the fruit
  3. staff — a stick
  4. clip — for paper
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. tear — to rip
  7. chip — to eat
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. staff — employees
  10. staff — employees
  11. clip — to cut
  12. tear — from crying
  13. chip — for betting
  14. tear — from crying
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. clip — a video
  17. craft — a skill
  18. chip — in a computer

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