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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: spring · nail · capital · hand · saw · branch · season · bass

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. branch — a division
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. season — of the year
  7. saw — the tool
  8. capital — a city
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. capital — money
  11. season — in sport
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. spring — a coil
  14. saw — the tool
  15. spring — of water
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. hand — in cards
  20. hand — help
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. bass — low music
  23. bass — the fish
  24. spring — the season

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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