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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: ground · ball · lean · branch · cold · nail · last · wake

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. wake — a trail
  3. last — finally
  4. cold — not warm
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. last — final
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. last — to go on
  12. ground — crushed
  13. branch — a division
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. lean — to bend
  16. cold — an illness
  17. ball — a great time
  18. ball — a dance
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. ground — the earth
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. ground — a position

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