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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: chip · wake · drill · spell · present · branch · hand · foot

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. spell — letters
  4. drill — the tool
  5. chip — for betting
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. drill — army training
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. spell — a short time
  10. wake — a trail
  11. drill — a practice
  12. hand — help
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. present — the time now
  15. present — a gift
  16. foot — a measure
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. hand — in cards
  19. spell — magic
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. chip — to eat
  22. present — there
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. branch — a division

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