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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: chair · sharp · bat · race · staff · content · spring · suit

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. suit — to fit
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. staff — employees
  5. spring — a coil
  6. sharp — clever
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. race — humankind
  10. staff — employees
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. chair — a leader
  13. bat — the animal
  14. spring — of water
  15. content — happy
  16. race — the arms race
  17. suit — in cards
  18. race — a contest
  19. suit — clothes
  20. spring — the season
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. staff — a stick
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. content — the amount

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