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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.

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: straw · root · staff · shower · patient · clip · coach · trunk

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. root — of a word
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. clip — for paper
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. staff — employees
  11. staff — employees
  12. staff — a stick
  13. shower — rain
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. root — the cause
  16. shower — to wash
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. root — of a plant
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. clip — a video

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