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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: staff · mate · press · clip · drill · tear · season · prune

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. season — of the year
  4. clip — a video
  5. tear — to rip
  6. staff — a stick
  7. staff — employees
  8. prune — to trim
  9. staff — employees
  10. prune — to trim
  11. press — newspapers
  12. clip — to cut
  13. tear — from crying
  14. season — in sport
  15. drill — the tool
  16. mate — to breed
  17. drill — army training
  18. mate — a friend
  19. clip — for paper
  20. drill — a practice
  21. press — a publisher
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. press — to push
  24. 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