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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. pop — to visit
  3. drill — army training
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. staff — employees
  8. staff — a stick
  9. craft — boats
  10. cold — an illness
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. craft — a skill
  14. pop — soda
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. cold — not warm
  17. branch — a division
  18. staff — employees
  19. pop — music
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. drill — a practice
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. pass — a permit
  24. patient — a sick person

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