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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: band · hide · mug · arm · pound · cell · march · staff

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. staff — employees
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. band — a music group
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. mug — to rob
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. march — the month
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. mug — a cup
  13. march — the month
  14. mug — a face
  15. pound — a weight
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. cell — in biology
  19. band — a ring
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. staff — a stick
  23. march — music
  24. staff — employees

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