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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: nail · season · prune · bore · net · hand · snap · band

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. net — after costs
  3. band — a music group
  4. season — of the year
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. band — a ring
  9. prune — to trim
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. bore — to drill
  12. hand — help
  13. season — in sport
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. hand — in cards
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. prune — to trim
  18. net — in sport
  19. snap — to click
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. net — for catching
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. band — a rubber band

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