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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: staff · cell · squash · hide · clip · wind · present · tear

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. present — a gift
  3. clip — to cut
  4. clip — for paper
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. squash — the sport
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. clip — a video
  9. present — the time now
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. present — there
  12. wind — moving air
  13. tear — to rip
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. cell — in biology
  16. tear — from crying
  17. squash — to crush
  18. staff — employees
  19. staff — a stick
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. cell — a phone
  22. staff — employees
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. tear — from crying

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