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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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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: bear · lean · lash · bat · branch · scale · last · drill

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. drill — army training
  3. drill — the tool
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. last — to go on
  6. lean — thin
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. bat — the animal
  10. drill — a practice
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bear — the animal
  13. scale — in music
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. last — final
  19. bear — the animal
  20. scale — size or range
  21. branch — a division
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. last — finally
  24. lash — an eyelash

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