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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: chair · spring · clip · rest · staff · chip · craft · net

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. staff — a stick
  4. chip — to eat
  5. clip — a video
  6. spring — a coil
  7. rest — what's left
  8. staff — employees
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. net — for catching
  11. craft — a skill
  12. net — in sport
  13. spring — the season
  14. rest — what's left
  15. craft — boats
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. chair — a leader
  18. staff — employees
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. chip — for betting
  21. clip — for paper
  22. clip — to cut
  23. spring — of water
  24. rest — a break

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