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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: rock · squash · spell · object · staff · spring · clip · cold

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. object — an aim
  3. rock — a stone
  4. staff — employees
  5. spring — of water
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. object — a thing
  8. rock — music
  9. spell — letters
  10. staff — employees
  11. squash — the sport
  12. cold — an illness
  13. squash — to crush
  14. spring — the season
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. spell — a short time
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. cold — not warm
  19. clip — a video
  20. clip — for paper
  21. object — to protest
  22. clip — to cut
  23. spell — magic
  24. spring — a coil

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