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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: season · branch · nail · saw · hide · file · court · drill

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. drill — the tool
  4. drill — a practice
  5. season — in sport
  6. saw — the tool
  7. file — a tool
  8. saw — the tool
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. drill — army training
  12. branch — a division
  13. file — a document
  14. season — of the year
  15. file — a line of people
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. court — of law
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. court — of a king

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