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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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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: branch · shower · drill · ruler · pit · cold · pass · spring

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. pass — a permit
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. shower — rain
  9. pit — a hole
  10. drill — a practice
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. cold — not warm
  13. branch — a division
  14. cold — an illness
  15. spring — of water
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. drill — the tool
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. spring — a coil
  21. spring — the season
  22. shower — to wash
  23. pit — in a race
  24. branch — of a bank

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