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

Word bank: mug · cold · lash · deal · branch · snap · drill · chip

  1. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. drill — army training
  5. drill — the tool
  6. branch — a division
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. mug — a face
  9. cold — not warm
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. snap — to click
  12. chip — to eat
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. chip — for betting
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. deal — to handle
  19. drill — a practice
  20. cold — an illness
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. mug — to rob

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