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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: board · object · drill · nail · tube · bat · branch · cold

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. drill — army training
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. tube — the underground
  7. cold — not warm
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. board — to get on
  10. object — to protest
  11. drill — a practice
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. cold — an illness
  14. branch — a division
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. object — a thing
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. tube — a container
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. bat — the animal
  22. drill — the tool
  23. board — a committee
  24. board — a flat piece

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