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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 116 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: land · lie · bark · nail · ground · branch

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. land — a country
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. lie — to recline
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. branch — a division
  8. land — ground
  9. land — to come down
  10. ground — crushed
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. ground — the earth
  15. ground — a position
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bark — to shout
  18. lie — an untruth

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