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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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. bore — to drill
  3. spring — a coil
  4. cold — not warm
  5. spring — of water
  6. rock — music
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. bore — to tire
  9. mark — a trace
  10. spring — the season
  11. drill — a practice
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. drill — army training
  14. cold — an illness
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. mark — a grade
  17. drill — the tool
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. rock — a stone
  20. sharp — clever
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. branch — a division
  24. mark — to pay attention

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