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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · plane · bark · mine · leaves · drill · pitcher · game

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. staff — employees
  5. drill — army training
  6. bark — to shout
  7. staff — employees
  8. staff — a stick
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. plane — a tool
  11. game — a match
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. game — wild animals
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. drill — a practice
  23. drill — the tool
  24. leaves — of a tree

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