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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: spring · kid · chest · roll · staff · foot · craft · prune

  1. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. chest — of your body
  3. staff — employees
  4. prune — to trim
  5. roll — a cake
  6. spring — the season
  7. kid — to tease
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. staff — employees
  10. staff — a stick
  11. craft — boats
  12. prune — to trim
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. chest — of your body
  15. kid — child
  16. roll — a list
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. spring — a coil
  19. foot — a measure
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. chest — a box
  22. craft — a skill
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. spring — of water

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