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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 120 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: drill · branch · fork · lash · rule · squash · ball · bat

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. drill — army training
  3. drill — a practice
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. rule — government
  6. rule — a law
  7. squash — to crush
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. ball — a great time
  13. squash — the sport
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. ball — a dance
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. drill — the tool
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. bat — the animal
  23. fork — in a road
  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