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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: hand · season · fine · last · pound · drill · shower · staff

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. hand — help
  3. drill — a practice
  4. hand — in cards
  5. shower — rain
  6. staff — employees
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. pound — a weight
  9. fine — all right
  10. season — in sport
  11. drill — army training
  12. last — final
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. shower — to wash
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. drill — the tool
  17. last — finally
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. staff — a stick
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. staff — employees
  23. season — of the year
  24. fine — high quality

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