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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: hand · squash · shower · nail · wax · branch

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. wax — to grow
  4. squash — to crush
  5. shower — rain
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. shower — to wash
  8. hand — in cards
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. squash — the sport
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. branch — a division
  17. hand — help
  18. squash — the vegetable

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