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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 120 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: staff · chair · object · key · lean · mine · fork · content

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. lean — to bend
  6. staff — employees
  7. object — an aim
  8. content — the amount
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. object — a thing
  12. staff — a stick
  13. key — in music
  14. fork — in a road
  15. object — to protest
  16. chair — a leader
  17. staff — employees
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. lean — thin
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. key — for a lock
  23. key — the most important part
  24. mine — for digging

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