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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 124 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: roll · pit · fall · march · staff · mouse · row · face

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. roll — a cake
  4. fall — to drop
  5. staff — employees
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. face — to confront
  8. pit — in a race
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. face — to point toward
  12. march — the month
  13. march — the month
  14. fall — the season
  15. march — music
  16. roll — a list
  17. staff — a stick
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. face — part of the head
  20. pit — a hole
  21. fall — to drop
  22. staff — employees
  23. row — to paddle
  24. roll — on a roll

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