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

Word bank: bay · staff · march · present · season · cell

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. season — of the year
  3. staff — a stick
  4. present — there
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. march — the month
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. cell — a phone
  9. march — music
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. season — in sport
  13. march — the month
  14. cell — in biology
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. staff — employees
  17. present — a gift
  18. present — the time now

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