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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: foot · march · band · staff · pitcher · prune · rule · key

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. key — for a lock
  3. key — the most important part
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. rule — government
  7. march — music
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. key — in music
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. rule — a law
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. march — the month
  14. prune — to trim
  15. band — a ring
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. band — a music group
  18. staff — a stick
  19. staff — employees
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. foot — a measure
  23. staff — employees
  24. march — the month

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