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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: pop · hand · stand · squash · saw · drill · dip · branch

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. squash — to crush
  3. stand — to bear
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. pop — to visit
  6. drill — army training
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. pop — music
  10. saw — the tool
  11. drill — the tool
  12. saw — the tool
  13. pop — soda
  14. hand — help
  15. drill — a practice
  16. dip — to sink
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. hand — in cards
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. branch — a division
  24. squash — the sport

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