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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: spring · roll · staff · ball · trunk · clip · toast · tear

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  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. tear — from crying
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — to cut
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. ball — a dance
  7. staff — employees
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. toast — bread
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. ball — a great time
  12. tear — to rip
  13. staff — a stick
  14. spring — the season
  15. spring — a coil
  16. roll — a list
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. staff — employees
  19. clip — a video
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. spring — of water
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. roll — a cake
  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