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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
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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: calf · court · drill · march · mine · staff · land · bass

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. staff — employees
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. land — a country
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. march — music
  9. drill — a practice
  10. court — of a king
  11. march — the month
  12. drill — the tool
  13. bass — low music
  14. march — the month
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. court — of law
  17. bass — the fish
  18. drill — army training
  19. court — for sport
  20. mine — for digging
  21. land — to come down
  22. staff — a stick
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. staff — employees

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