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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: pound · coach · staff · lean · foot · snap · cue · mine

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. mine — for digging
  3. cue — a signal
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. cue — a hint
  6. staff — employees
  7. lean — thin
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. pound — a weight
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. snap — to click
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. cue — for pool
  22. staff — a stick
  23. foot — a measure
  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