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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: key · spring · chair · staff · row · net · present · roll

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. spring — the season
  3. staff — employees
  4. present — a gift
  5. net — in sport
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. present — there
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. row — a line
  10. present — the time now
  11. chair — a leader
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. staff — a stick
  14. spring — a coil
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. roll — a list
  17. spring — of water
  18. staff — employees
  19. key — the most important part
  20. roll — a cake
  21. key — in music
  22. row — to paddle
  23. net — for catching
  24. net — after costs

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