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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: staff · craft · band · drill · bass · swing · hide · kid

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. band — a music group
  4. drill — army training
  5. kid — child
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. swing — music
  8. swing — to play on
  9. staff — employees
  10. craft — boats
  11. kid — to tease
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. craft — a skill
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. swing — in golf
  16. staff — a stick
  17. drill — the tool
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. bass — low music
  20. bass — the fish
  21. band — a ring
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. drill — a practice
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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