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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 116 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: bass · prune · staff · content · band · drill

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. content — the amount
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. staff — employees
  5. drill — the tool
  6. bass — low music
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. band — a ring
  9. band — a music group
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. drill — a practice
  12. drill — army training
  13. staff — a stick
  14. content — happy
  15. bass — the fish
  16. prune — to trim
  17. staff — employees
  18. prune — to trim

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