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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: nail · stock · hand · branch · tear · net · cold · mug

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. branch — a division
  4. mug — a cup
  5. cold — an illness
  6. mug — a face
  7. net — after costs
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. cold — not warm
  10. net — for catching
  11. net — in sport
  12. hand — in cards
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. stock — goods
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. hand — help
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. stock — shares
  22. tear — from crying
  23. mug — to rob
  24. tear — from crying

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