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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: staff · spring · game · track · club · tube · rule · march

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. track — a path
  3. march — music
  4. staff — employees
  5. rule — government
  6. tube — a container
  7. spring — the season
  8. tube — the underground
  9. rule — a law
  10. game — wild animals
  11. spring — of water
  12. club — a group
  13. spring — a coil
  14. track — a song
  15. club — for golf
  16. club — for dancing
  17. march — the month
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. staff — employees
  20. march — the month
  21. staff — a stick
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. track — to keep track
  24. tube — in a tire

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