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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.

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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: band · shower · pass · stick · land · game · ground · staff

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  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 — to come down
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. land — a country
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. pass — a permit
  8. shower — to wash
  9. game — a match
  10. band — a music group
  11. ground — a position
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. band — a ring
  15. ground — the earth
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. ground — crushed
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. shower — rain
  20. staff — employees
  21. staff — a stick
  22. land — ground
  23. game — wild animals
  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