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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 · staff · kid · spring · ruler · board · cap · mate

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. board — a committee
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. spring — of water
  5. cap — of ice
  6. mate — to breed
  7. cap — a hat
  8. march — music
  9. kid — child
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. march — the month
  12. staff — employees
  13. mate — a friend
  14. staff — a stick
  15. board — to get on
  16. spring — a coil
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. march — the month
  19. mate — a partner
  20. spring — the season
  21. cap — a lid
  22. kid — to tease
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. ruler — a monarch

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