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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: hand · spring · season · prune · chair · staff · kid · straw

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. prune — to trim
  3. staff — a stick
  4. staff — employees
  5. spring — the season
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. hand — help
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. kid — child
  11. staff — employees
  12. season — of the year
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. chair — a leader
  16. prune — to trim
  17. spring — of water
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. season — in sport
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. kid — to tease
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. spring — a coil

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