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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: nail · perch · march · file · leaves · bore · last · staff

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. file — a tool
  3. last — final
  4. march — the month
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. staff — a stick
  7. file — a line of people
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. staff — employees
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. bore — to drill
  14. file — a document
  15. last — finally
  16. perch — the fish
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. bore — to tire
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. last — to go on
  23. march — music
  24. march — the month

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