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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: arm · season · drill · band · pitcher · staff · rest · wound

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  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. arm — part of the body
  2. staff — employees
  3. season — in sport
  4. rest — what's left
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. rest — a break
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. rest — what's left
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. wound — an injury
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. drill — army training
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. drill — the tool
  17. band — a ring
  18. wound — an injury
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. band — a music group
  21. drill — a practice
  22. season — of the year
  23. staff — a stick
  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