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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 116 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: snap · hand · stick · pitcher · staff · cell · content · lean

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. hand — help
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. lean — thin
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. lean — to bend
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. cell — in biology
  11. staff — employees
  12. content — the amount
  13. content — happy
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. snap — to click
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. staff — a stick
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. cell — a phone
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. hand — in cards

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