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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: bat · straw · board · mine · season · last · staff · march

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. staff — a stick
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. season — in sport
  5. last — finally
  6. board — to get on
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. march — the month
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. season — of the year
  11. last — final
  12. mine — for digging
  13. last — to go on
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. march — music
  17. board — a committee
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. march — the month
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. staff — employees
  23. staff — employees
  24. board — a flat piece

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