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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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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: mug · branch · cold · chest · craft · lash · drill · tear

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. craft — boats
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. tear — to rip
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. craft — a skill
  7. tear — from crying
  8. mug — a cup
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. drill — a practice
  11. chest — a box
  12. mug — to rob
  13. chest — of your body
  14. branch — a division
  15. cold — not warm
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. tear — from crying
  18. chest — of your body
  19. mug — a face
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cold — an illness
  23. drill — army training
  24. branch — of a bank

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