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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: staff · wake · march · wind · kick · bat

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — moving air
  5. staff — employees
  6. march — the month
  7. kick — in football
  8. staff — a stick
  9. wake — a trail
  10. march — music
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. march — the month
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. staff — employees
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bat — in an idiom

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