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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: stick · kid · staff · drill · snap · hand · leaves · sharp

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. kid — child
  5. staff — a stick
  6. sharp — clever
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. staff — employees
  12. drill — a practice
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. drill — the tool
  17. snap — to click
  18. hand — in cards
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. kid — to tease
  23. hand — help
  24. drill — army training

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