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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 · drill · cell · nail · pound · track · lean · branch

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. season — of the year
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. lean — to bend
  7. lean — thin
  8. cell — in biology
  9. track — a path
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. season — in sport
  12. pound — a weight
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. drill — the tool
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. track — a song
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. branch — a division
  22. cell — a phone
  23. drill — a practice
  24. drill — army training

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