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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: drill · last · staff · arm · spring · file · pitch · branch

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. last — finally
  3. staff — a stick
  4. staff — employees
  5. spring — the season
  6. drill — a practice
  7. spring — a coil
  8. last — to go on
  9. drill — the tool
  10. spring — of water
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. last — final
  13. branch — a division
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. file — a document
  18. file — a line of people
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. pitch — completely
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. staff — employees
  23. file — a tool
  24. branch — of a tree

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