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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 · bank · swing · march · mine · snap · ruler · date

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. staff — a stick
  3. bank — for money
  4. date — the fruit
  5. march — the month
  6. march — music
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. snap — to click
  14. staff — employees
  15. bank — for money
  16. mine — for digging
  17. swing — to play on
  18. swing — in golf
  19. march — the month
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. bank — of a river
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. swing — music
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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