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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: mine · drill · fan · mark · branch · march · dip · bat

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. mark — a trace
  3. march — the month
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. mark — a grade
  7. bat — the animal
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. march — music
  11. mine — for digging
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. drill — a practice
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. branch — a division
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. drill — army training
  19. dip — to sink
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. march — the month

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