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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. branch — a division
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. shower — to wash
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. mine — for digging
  11. row — to paddle
  12. bound — certain
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. bound — obliged
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. spell — a short time
  17. row — a line
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. spell — letters
  20. bound — tied together
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. spell — magic
  24. shower — rain

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