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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: hand · spring · staff · roll · safe · lean · chair · foot

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. hand — help
  3. chair — a leader
  4. spring — a coil
  5. spring — the season
  6. foot — a measure
  7. roll — a cake
  8. spring — of water
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. staff — employees
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. lean — thin
  18. staff — a stick
  19. roll — a list
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. staff — employees
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. lean — to bend
  24. hand — in cards

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