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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: rush · branch · nail · tear · scale · cap · clip · mine

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. scale — in music
  4. clip — for paper
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. rush — hurry
  7. branch — a division
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. cap — a lid
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. tear — from crying
  14. mine — for digging
  15. clip — to cut
  16. cap — of ice
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. clip — a video
  20. tear — to rip
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. cap — a hat
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. scale — size or range

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