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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: drill · pit · shower · leaves · bound · staff · last · hand

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. staff — employees
  3. last — final
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. shower — to wash
  6. drill — army training
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. pit — in a race
  9. drill — a practice
  10. last — finally
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. bound — certain
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. staff — employees
  15. bound — obliged
  16. shower — rain
  17. staff — a stick
  18. drill — the tool
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. hand — in cards
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. pit — a hole
  23. last — to go on
  24. hand — help

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