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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: rush · cap · branch · bark · rest · drill · kid · chair

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. kid — child
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. rest — what's left
  5. rest — what's left
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. kid — to tease
  8. bark — to shout
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. drill — a practice
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. chair — a leader
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. cap — of ice
  15. rest — a break
  16. drill — army training
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. branch — a division
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. cap — a lid
  22. cap — a hat
  23. rush — hurry
  24. drill — the tool

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