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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: arm · root · clip · swing · last · staff · cold · bore

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. staff — a stick
  3. bore — to tire
  4. last — to go on
  5. clip — to cut
  6. clip — for paper
  7. last — finally
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. root — of a plant
  12. swing — music
  13. swing — to play on
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. staff — employees
  16. clip — a video
  17. cold — an illness
  18. root — the cause
  19. root — of a word
  20. swing — in golf
  21. staff — employees
  22. cold — not warm
  23. last — final
  24. bore — gave birth

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