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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: key · bat · branch · tear · rule · safe · drill · cold

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. key — in music
  3. drill — the tool
  4. cold — an illness
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. bat — the animal
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. tear — from crying
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. tear — from crying
  12. branch — a division
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. drill — army training
  16. cold — not warm
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. rule — a law
  19. drill — a practice
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. key — the most important part
  22. tear — to rip
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. rule — government

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