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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: net · nail · branch · mine · firm · wax · club · spring

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. net — for catching
  5. wax — to grow
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. firm — decided
  8. club — for dancing
  9. mine — for digging
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. firm — steady
  12. net — in sport
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. spring — of water
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. branch — a division
  17. club — a group
  18. club — for golf
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. spring — the season
  22. firm — a company
  23. spring — a coil
  24. mine — belonging to me

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