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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: march · mug · spring · mate · saw · staff · shower · swing

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. mate — a friend
  3. staff — a stick
  4. spring — a coil
  5. staff — employees
  6. march — the month
  7. mate — a partner
  8. mug — a cup
  9. mate — to breed
  10. shower — to wash
  11. saw — the tool
  12. spring — of water
  13. mug — a face
  14. march — music
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. swing — music
  17. march — the month
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. mug — to rob
  20. saw — the tool
  21. spring — the season
  22. swing — to play on
  23. shower — rain
  24. swing — in golf

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