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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: drill · kid · toast · staff · safe · chest · last · spring

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. last — to go on
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. staff — employees
  5. chest — of your body
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. kid — child
  9. drill — the tool
  10. last — finally
  11. spring — a coil
  12. kid — to tease
  13. chest — a box
  14. drill — a practice
  15. last — final
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. staff — a stick
  18. spring — the season
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. toast — bread
  21. drill — army training
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. chest — of your body
  24. staff — employees

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