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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: ruler · staff · straw · pit · mine · court · clip · wind

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. pit — a hole
  3. pit — in a race
  4. wind — moving air
  5. clip — for paper
  6. clip — to cut
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. wind — moving air
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. mine — for digging
  14. clip — a video
  15. court — for sport
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. staff — a stick
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. staff — employees
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. court — of law
  24. court — of a king

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