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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: staff · cold · tube · drill · fan · rest · craft · season

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. season — of the year
  5. cold — an illness
  6. rest — what's left
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. rest — a break
  10. tube — the underground
  11. craft — boats
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. staff — employees
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. rest — what's left
  16. season — in sport
  17. staff — employees
  18. tube — a container
  19. craft — a skill
  20. drill — the tool
  21. staff — a stick
  22. drill — a practice
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cold — the Cold War

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