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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: field · jam · drill · hide · mine · cabinet · branch · cold

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. field — farmland
  6. mine — for digging
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. field — for sport
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. cold — not warm
  15. drill — army training
  16. field — a subject
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. drill — the tool
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. cold — an illness
  23. branch — a division
  24. hide — animal skin

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