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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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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: stock · file · bore · tear · hand · prune · clip · staff

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. file — a document
  3. staff — a stick
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. tear — from crying
  6. file — a tool
  7. bore — to tire
  8. tear — to rip
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. clip — to cut
  12. file — a line of people
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. bore — to drill
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — for paper
  17. hand — help
  18. stock — goods
  19. tear — from crying
  20. staff — employees
  21. prune — to trim
  22. stock — shares
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. hand — in cards

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