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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: file · hide · ball · band · game · staff · last · march

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. staff — employees
  3. staff — a stick
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. march — the month
  6. last — final
  7. file — a line of people
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. last — to go on
  10. band — a music group
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. ball — a dance
  14. file — a document
  15. march — music
  16. march — the month
  17. file — a tool
  18. game — wild animals
  19. game — a match
  20. band — a ring
  21. ball — a great time
  22. staff — employees
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. last — finally

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