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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 120 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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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 · racket · rest · cap · branch · march · hand · stick

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. cap — of ice
  3. rest — what's left
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. march — the month
  7. march — the month
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. cap — a hat
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. rest — a break
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. cap — a lid
  16. hand — in cards
  17. rest — what's left
  18. march — music
  19. hand — help
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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