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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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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: rash · drill · cap · arm · branch · last · spell · sharp

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. rash — a series
  5. sharp — clever
  6. spell — letters
  7. cap — a lid
  8. rash — hasty
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. spell — magic
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. last — to go on
  14. last — finally
  15. drill — the tool
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. drill — army training
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. spell — a short time
  20. cap — of ice
  21. cap — a hat
  22. last — final
  23. branch — of a bank
  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