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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: rash · branch · pit · capital · drill · hide · chair · snap

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. snap — to click
  4. pit — in a race
  5. capital — money
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. chair — a leader
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. rash — a series
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. rash — hasty
  13. pit — a hole
  14. drill — the tool
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. branch — a division
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. capital — a city
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. drill — army training
  24. rash — on the 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