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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: lean · wind · club · kid · cell · staff

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. wind — moving air
  3. staff — a stick
  4. lean — to bend
  5. wind — moving air
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. club — a group
  8. cell — a phone
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. staff — employees
  11. lean — thin
  12. kid — to tease
  13. club — for golf
  14. kid — child
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. cell — in biology
  17. staff — employees
  18. club — for dancing

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