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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 · key · roll · rash · chair · face · club · staff

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. club — a group
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. rash — a series
  5. face — to point toward
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. club — for dancing
  8. key — for a lock
  9. key — the most important part
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. face — to confront
  12. march — the month
  13. key — in music
  14. chair — a leader
  15. club — for golf
  16. staff — employees
  17. roll — a list
  18. rash — hasty
  19. march — music
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. staff — employees
  22. face — part of the head
  23. staff — a stick
  24. roll — a cake

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