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

Word bank: staff · clip · march · race · pit · stand

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. march — the month
  5. pit — a hole
  6. clip — to cut
  7. stand — to bear
  8. staff — employees
  9. pit — in a race
  10. clip — for paper
  11. race — humankind
  12. march — music
  13. staff — employees
  14. race — a contest
  15. clip — a video
  16. race — the arms race
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. march — the month

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