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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: game · face · rock · land · march · straw · current · staff

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. face — part of the head
  3. march — music
  4. staff — employees
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. face — to point toward
  7. land — to come down
  8. staff — employees
  9. staff — a stick
  10. game — a match
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. land — a country
  13. current — happening now
  14. rock — a stone
  15. march — the month
  16. march — the month
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. game — wild animals
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. rock — music
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. face — to confront
  23. current — of water
  24. current — electric

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