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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. saw — the tool
  3. hand — in cards
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. last — final
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. drill — army training
  9. kid — to tease
  10. drill — the tool
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. branch — a division
  13. saw — the tool
  14. mate — a partner
  15. last — finally
  16. kid — child
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. drill — a practice
  19. hand — help
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. last — to go on
  23. mate — to breed
  24. mate — a friend

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