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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: land · toast · cue · clip · straw · staff · pit · pound

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  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. toast — bread
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. pound — a weight
  4. pit — in a race
  5. staff — a stick
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. land — ground
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. pit — a hole
  12. clip — to cut
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. staff — employees
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. cue — a hint
  17. clip — a video
  18. staff — employees
  19. cue — for pool
  20. land — a country
  21. cue — a signal
  22. land — to come down
  23. pound — to hit hard
  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