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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: present · ball · branch · roll · race · drill · mouse · fall

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. present — the time now
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. ball — a dance
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. fall — to drop
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. branch — a division
  9. race — the arms race
  10. fall — to drop
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. race — a contest
  14. ball — a great time
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. race — humankind
  17. roll — a cake
  18. roll — a list
  19. drill — a practice
  20. fall — the season
  21. present — there
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. drill — army training
  24. drill — the tool

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