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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: staff · cell · spell · spring · clip · lean · date · bore

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. spring — the season
  4. clip — a video
  5. spell — a short time
  6. staff — a stick
  7. date — the fruit
  8. spell — magic
  9. staff — employees
  10. clip — for paper
  11. spring — a coil
  12. bore — to drill
  13. clip — to cut
  14. spell — letters
  15. cell — in biology
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. spring — of water
  18. lean — to bend
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. staff — employees
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. lean — thin
  24. bore — to tire

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