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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: foot · staff · club · sharp · last · racket · leaves · pop

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. last — to go on
  3. staff — employees
  4. club — a group
  5. pop — to visit
  6. club — for golf
  7. pop — music
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. staff — employees
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. foot — a measure
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. pop — soda
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. staff — a stick
  22. last — finally
  23. club — for dancing
  24. sharp — clever

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