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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: foot · coach · spring · clip · staff · content · plane · kid

  1. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. foot — a measure
  3. content — the amount
  4. clip — for paper
  5. spring — of water
  6. kid — to tease
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. spring — a coil
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. staff — a stick
  13. plane — a tool
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. staff — employees
  18. content — happy
  19. spring — the season
  20. staff — employees
  21. clip — a video
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. kid — child
  24. clip — to cut

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