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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 120 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: spring · file · coach · staff · rock · march · squash · trunk

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. staff — employees
  3. spring — of water
  4. file — a tool
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. staff — a stick
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. staff — employees
  9. squash — the sport
  10. squash — to crush
  11. spring — a coil
  12. spring — the season
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. file — a line of people
  16. march — the month
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. file — a document
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. march — music
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. rock — a stone
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. rock — 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