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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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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: bay · mark · saw · root · wave · clip · land · staff

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. staff — employees
  5. root — of a plant
  6. clip — for paper
  7. land — ground
  8. land — to come down
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. clip — a video
  12. mark — a grade
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. clip — to cut
  15. saw — the tool
  16. mark — a trace
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. root — of a word
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. root — the cause
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. land — a country
  23. saw — the tool
  24. staff — employees

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