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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.

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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: mine · march · spring · foot · coach · swing · rash · staff

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. spring — the season
  4. swing — to play on
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. swing — in golf
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. staff — employees
  9. mine — for digging
  10. staff — a stick
  11. swing — music
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. foot — a measure
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. spring — of water
  18. rash — a series
  19. staff — employees
  20. march — the month
  21. rash — hasty
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. spring — a coil
  24. march — music

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