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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: face · march · rest · season · trunk · staff · track · net

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. march — the month
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. season — of the year
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. track — to keep track
  7. net — in sport
  8. march — the month
  9. march — music
  10. net — after costs
  11. track — a path
  12. rest — what's left
  13. face — to confront
  14. track — a song
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. season — in sport
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. face — part of the head
  19. staff — a stick
  20. face — to point toward
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rest — a break
  23. staff — employees
  24. net — for catching

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