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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. file — a document
  4. branch — a division
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. drill — army training
  7. file — a line of people
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. drill — the tool
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. lie — to recline
  14. board — to get on
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. hand — help
  18. hand — in cards
  19. kid — to tease
  20. board — a committee
  21. kid — child
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. drill — a practice
  24. file — a tool

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