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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: march · rush · spring · capital · bay · straw · band · staff

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. staff — a stick
  4. staff — employees
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. staff — employees
  7. spring — a coil
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. capital — money
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. rush — hurry
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. spring — of water
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. band — a ring
  16. march — the month
  17. march — music
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. band — a music group
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. spring — the season
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. capital — a city
  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