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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 120 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: drill · hand · lean · pitcher · fall · branch · press · bay

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. fall — to drop
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. branch — a division
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. fall — to drop
  8. drill — a practice
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. press — newspapers
  12. drill — the tool
  13. lean — to bend
  14. hand — help
  15. hand — in cards
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. drill — army training
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. fall — the season
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. lean — thin
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. press — to push
  24. press — a publisher

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