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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 · bass · fan · rest · season · drill · prune · land

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. rest — what's left
  4. season — in sport
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. season — of the year
  7. land — ground
  8. staff — employees
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. land — a country
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. rest — a break
  13. bass — low music
  14. staff — a stick
  15. staff — employees
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. rest — what's left
  18. bass — the fish
  19. prune — to trim
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. prune — to trim
  22. land — to come down
  23. drill — a practice
  24. drill — the tool

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