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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bore · tear · rest · bowl · straw · staff · clip · squash

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. clip — a video
  3. tear — from crying
  4. rest — what's left
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. rest — a break
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. bore — to tire
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. staff — a stick
  12. squash — to crush
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. staff — employees
  17. rest — what's left
  18. staff — employees
  19. clip — to cut
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. tear — to rip
  22. squash — the sport
  23. bore — to drill
  24. clip — for paper

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