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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: jam · last · staff · spring · stand · scale · content · clip

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. spring — the season
  3. staff — employees
  4. clip — a video
  5. last — to go on
  6. stand — to bear
  7. last — final
  8. spring — of water
  9. staff — a stick
  10. clip — to cut
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. content — happy
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. last — finally
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. clip — for paper
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. content — the amount
  21. scale — size or range
  22. staff — employees
  23. scale — in music
  24. scale — for weighing

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