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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: march · chip · fall · spring · cell · hand · cabinet · staff

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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. hand — part of the body
  4. fall — the season
  5. march — the month
  6. chip — for betting
  7. fall — to drop
  8. march — music
  9. hand — in cards
  10. cell — a phone
  11. staff — a stick
  12. fall — to drop
  13. hand — help
  14. march — the month
  15. spring — of water
  16. cell — in biology
  17. staff — employees
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. chip — to eat
  21. staff — employees
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. chip — in a computer

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