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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: tube · drill · branch · bat · pit · straw · land · ball

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. pit — a hole
  3. drill — the tool
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. drill — a practice
  10. ball — a dance
  11. branch — a division
  12. tube — the underground
  13. bat — the animal
  14. land — to come down
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. drill — army training
  17. pit — in a race
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. land — ground
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. tube — a container
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. land — a country

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