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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 116 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: board · branch · race · drill · hand · land · spell · can

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. race — humankind
  3. drill — army training
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. race — a contest
  6. can — to be able to
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. race — the arms race
  9. land — to come down
  10. drill — the tool
  11. can — a tin
  12. spell — letters
  13. land — ground
  14. can — a tin
  15. spell — a short time
  16. hand — help
  17. drill — a practice
  18. board — a committee
  19. land — a country
  20. board — to get on
  21. branch — a division
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. hand — in cards
  24. branch — of a tree

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