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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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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 · pitcher · drill · bound · key · branch · last · track

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. last — finally
  4. branch — a division
  5. bound — obliged
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. last — to go on
  8. key — in music
  9. bound — certain
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. drill — army training
  14. drill — a practice
  15. track — to keep track
  16. bound — tied together
  17. key — the most important part
  18. drill — the tool
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. track — a song
  21. key — for a lock
  22. track — a path
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. pitcher — a jug

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