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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. present — a gift
  3. staff — employees
  4. key — the most important part
  5. key — in music
  6. rush — hurry
  7. staff — a stick
  8. season — in sport
  9. pound — a weight
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. season — of the year
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. march — the month
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. present — the time now
  17. present — there
  18. band — a ring
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. band — a music group
  21. key — for a lock
  22. staff — employees
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. march — music

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