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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: straw · rash · staff · date · spring · last · racket · march

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. staff — a stick
  3. spring — of water
  4. spring — a coil
  5. last — final
  6. rash — a series
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. march — the month
  9. last — to go on
  10. staff — employees
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. date — the fruit
  13. march — the month
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. march — music
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. last — finally
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. staff — employees
  23. rash — hasty
  24. spring — the season

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