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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. branch — a division
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. chest — a box
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. bore — to tire
  9. drill — the tool
  10. degree — an amount
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. chest — of your body
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. degree — temperature
  16. degree — from a university
  17. drill — a practice
  18. drill — army training
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. bore — to drill
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. chest — of your body
  24. mine — belonging to me

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