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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 116 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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. cap — a hat
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. scale — size or range
  7. hand — in cards
  8. drill — a practice
  9. drill — the tool
  10. hand — help
  11. game — wild animals
  12. scale — in music
  13. staff — employees
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. staff — employees
  17. branch — a division
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. cap — a lid
  20. cap — of ice
  21. game — a match
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. staff — a stick

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