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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: wound · staff · rock · band · board · land · season · shower

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. board — to get on
  4. shower — to wash
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. staff — employees
  7. staff — employees
  8. land — a country
  9. season — of the year
  10. rock — music
  11. shower — rain
  12. season — in sport
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. land — ground
  16. board — a committee
  17. staff — a stick
  18. band — a music group
  19. rock — a stone
  20. wound — an injury
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. band — a ring
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. land — to come down

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