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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 · hand · rash · drill · stem · bear · bat · pound

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. stem — to come from
  4. pound — a weight
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. drill — army training
  8. bat — the animal
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. staff — employees
  11. staff — employees
  12. staff — a stick
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. hand — in cards
  16. hand — help
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. rash — hasty
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. bear — the animal
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. rash — a series
  23. drill — the tool
  24. pound — for dogs

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