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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: clip · pound · staff · bear · board · tear

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. tear — from crying
  3. staff — employees
  4. pound — a weight
  5. tear — to rip
  6. clip — a video
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. clip — to cut
  10. board — a committee
  11. clip — for paper
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. staff — employees
  14. board — to get on
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. bear — the animal
  17. staff — a stick
  18. tear — from crying

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