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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 116 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 · mouse · tear · kick · mate · file · branch · sharp

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. branch — a division
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. kick — in football
  6. tear — from crying
  7. mate — to breed
  8. mate — a friend
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. mate — a partner
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. drill — the tool
  16. drill — a practice
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. tear — to rip
  20. file — a document
  21. file — a tool
  22. tear — from crying
  23. drill — army training
  24. file — a line of people

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