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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: last · pound · can · ground · cell · game · staff · march

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. game — a match
  3. staff — employees
  4. ground — crushed
  5. march — the month
  6. can — a tin
  7. ground — a position
  8. march — music
  9. ground — the earth
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. can — a tin
  13. staff — employees
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. can — to be able to
  16. cell — in biology
  17. pound — a weight
  18. last — finally
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. last — final
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. march — the month
  23. staff — a stick
  24. last — to go on

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