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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: firm · cold · sharp · key · drill · toast · hand · branch

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. key — for a lock
  4. key — in music
  5. firm — decided
  6. drill — army training
  7. hand — in cards
  8. firm — steady
  9. cold — an illness
  10. toast — bread
  11. firm — a company
  12. drill — a practice
  13. branch — a division
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. drill — the tool
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. hand — help
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. key — the most important part
  24. cold — not warm

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