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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: bay · toast · shower · cue · branch · staff · march · bat

  1. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  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. bay — to keep at bay
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. toast — bread
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. march — music
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. shower — rain
  9. cue — a hint
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. cue — a signal
  12. staff — a stick
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. branch — a division
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. shower — to wash
  17. staff — employees
  18. cue — for pool
  19. march — the month
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. bat — the animal
  22. branch — of a bank
  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