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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 · land · stick · tear · ruler · toast

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. clip — a video
  6. tear — to rip
  7. tear — from crying
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. toast — bread
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. clip — to cut
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. tear — from crying
  16. clip — for paper
  17. land — to come down
  18. land — a country

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