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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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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. land — a country
  3. staff — employees
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. net — in sport
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. march — the month
  8. fine — high quality
  9. staff — employees
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. net — after costs
  12. staff — a stick
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. march — the month
  15. cell — in biology
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. cell — a phone
  18. fine — all right
  19. wake — a trail
  20. net — for catching
  21. land — to come down
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. land — ground
  24. fine — a penalty

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