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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: pop · clip · staff · land · board · saw · ground · mine

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. ground — the earth
  3. mine — for digging
  4. ground — crushed
  5. pop — music
  6. staff — a stick
  7. clip — for paper
  8. staff — employees
  9. board — a committee
  10. staff — employees
  11. clip — a video
  12. saw — the tool
  13. ground — a position
  14. pop — to visit
  15. land — ground
  16. clip — to cut
  17. land — to come down
  18. board — to get on
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. pop — soda
  21. land — a country
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. saw — past of 'see'

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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