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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: trunk · root · staff · pop · wave · squash · clip · mine

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. root — of a word
  3. staff — a stick
  4. pop — soda
  5. clip — for paper
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. clip — a video
  10. mine — for digging
  11. pop — music
  12. root — of a plant
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. root — the cause
  15. staff — employees
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. pop — to visit
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. squash — to crush
  20. squash — the sport
  21. staff — employees
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. squash — the vegetable

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