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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.

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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: wound · bat · safe · spring · lean · sharp · capital · staff

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. spring — of water
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. sharp — clever
  8. staff — employees
  9. staff — a stick
  10. spring — the season
  11. staff — employees
  12. spring — a coil
  13. bat — the animal
  14. wound — an injury
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. lean — thin
  19. capital — money
  20. wound — an injury
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. capital — a city
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. lean — to bend

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