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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: staff · pop · land · season · drill · trunk · straw · snap

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. land — ground
  3. staff — employees
  4. staff — a stick
  5. pop — soda
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. season — in sport
  8. land — a country
  9. pop — music
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. pop — to visit
  12. snap — to click
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. drill — a practice
  16. land — to come down
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. drill — the tool
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. staff — employees
  23. drill — army training
  24. season — of the year

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