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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: last · branch · staff · drill · bark · safe · bat · pop

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. staff — employees
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. staff — employees
  5. drill — the tool
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. bark — to shout
  9. drill — a practice
  10. branch — a division
  11. drill — army training
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. pop — soda
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. pop — to visit
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. bat — the animal
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. pop — music
  20. last — to go on
  21. last — finally
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. last — final
  24. safe — out of danger

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