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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: can · mate · bat · shower · drill · kid · branch · chip

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. can — a tin
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. drill — the tool
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. shower — rain
  7. mate — to breed
  8. kid — to tease
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. drill — army training
  11. drill — a practice
  12. shower — to wash
  13. mate — a partner
  14. kid — child
  15. chip — for betting
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. can — to be able to
  18. bat — the animal
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. can — a tin
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. chip — to eat
  24. mate — a friend

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