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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 116 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: mate · cold · fan · drill · staff · leaves · bat · pitcher

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. drill — army training
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. drill — the tool
  5. mate — to breed
  6. cold — not warm
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. mate — a friend
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. drill — a practice
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. mate — a partner
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. cold — an illness
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. staff — employees
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. bat — the animal
  23. staff — a stick
  24. fan — a supporter

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