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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: coach · shower · cell · charge · march · staff · wound · key

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. staff — a stick
  4. shower — rain
  5. staff — employees
  6. key — for a lock
  7. charge — in control
  8. shower — to wash
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. cell — a phone
  12. key — in music
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. march — music
  17. key — the most important part
  18. cell — in biology
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. march — the month
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. charge — electricity
  23. march — the month
  24. charge — a price

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