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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: march · staff · leaves · rest · spell · bound · clip · bear

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  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. spell — magic
  2. march — the month
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. march — the month
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bound — obliged
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. spell — letters
  10. staff — a stick
  11. rest — what's left
  12. bound — certain
  13. clip — for paper
  14. clip — a video
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. bear — the animal
  17. staff — employees
  18. rest — what's left
  19. staff — employees
  20. bound — tied together
  21. spell — a short time
  22. rest — a break
  23. clip — to cut
  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