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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 116 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: club · present · march · staff · straw · spell · pop · face

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. spell — letters
  3. staff — a stick
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. march — music
  6. spell — magic
  7. pop — soda
  8. face — to confront
  9. staff — employees
  10. pop — to visit
  11. club — for golf
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. club — for dancing
  14. spell — a short time
  15. face — part of the head
  16. present — the time now
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. face — to point toward
  19. pop — music
  20. march — the month
  21. present — there
  22. staff — employees
  23. present — a gift
  24. club — a group

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