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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. drill — the tool
  3. track — to keep track
  4. track — a song
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. plane — a tool
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. swing — in golf
  10. drill — army training
  11. row — a line
  12. track — a path
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. swing — music
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. snap — to click
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. branch — a division
  20. row — to paddle
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. drill — a practice
  23. swing — to play on
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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