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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: degree · chip · mate · hide · staff · lean · nail · spring

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. mate — to breed
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. degree — an amount
  5. staff — employees
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. spring — of water
  8. spring — a coil
  9. degree — from a university
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. chip — to eat
  12. mate — a friend
  13. mate — a partner
  14. degree — temperature
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. lean — thin
  19. staff — a stick
  20. staff — employees
  21. chip — for betting
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. lean — to bend

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