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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: branch · nail · kid · field · foot · band · ground · fine

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. kid — child
  3. fine — all right
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. band — a music group
  6. field — for sport
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. foot — a measure
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. fine — high quality
  14. field — farmland
  15. kid — to tease
  16. ground — crushed
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. branch — a division
  19. field — a subject
  20. ground — the earth
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. ground — a position
  24. nail — for a hammer

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