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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 120 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: tear · drill · nail · fall · last · rush · branch · cap

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. last — finally
  3. cap — a hat
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. branch — a division
  6. rush — hurry
  7. drill — army training
  8. fall — the season
  9. cap — of ice
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. tear — from crying
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. tear — to rip
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — to drop
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. drill — a practice
  21. drill — the tool
  22. last — to go on
  23. last — final
  24. tear — from crying

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