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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 · bat · fan · staff · mine · rest · game · wave

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. rest — a break
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. bat — the animal
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. mine — for digging
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. rest — what's left
  12. staff — employees
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. game — a match
  17. drill — the tool
  18. drill — army training
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. staff — a stick
  21. drill — a practice
  22. rest — what's left
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. game — wild animals

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