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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: cabinet · dip · bore · hand · bat · spring · file · branch

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. bore — to drill
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. file — a line of people
  5. dip — to sink
  6. hand — in cards
  7. file — a document
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. branch — a division
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. spring — of water
  14. file — a tool
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. spring — a coil
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. bat — the animal
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. bore — to tire
  24. spring — the season

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