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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.

Make a worksheet

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
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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: clip · saw · safe · chair · staff · cold · spring · cabinet

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. clip — to cut
  6. cold — an illness
  7. clip — a video
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. spring — a coil
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. saw — the tool
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. staff — a stick
  17. spring — the season
  18. chair — a leader
  19. clip — for paper
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. staff — employees
  22. spring — of water
  23. saw — the tool
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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