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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: face · race · rush · snap · drill · branch · last · arm

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. last — to go on
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. rush — hurry
  5. drill — army training
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. last — finally
  8. race — humankind
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. face — part of the head
  13. drill — the tool
  14. face — to confront
  15. snap — to click
  16. race — a contest
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. drill — a practice
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. race — the arms race
  22. branch — a division
  23. face — to point toward
  24. arm — part of the body

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