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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: hand · bore · nail · cold · file · key · branch · roll

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. key — for a lock
  3. file — a line of people
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. roll — a cake
  6. roll — a list
  7. file — a document
  8. hand — in cards
  9. branch — a division
  10. key — the most important part
  11. bore — to tire
  12. hand — help
  13. bore — to drill
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. cold — an illness
  17. key — in music
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. cold — not warm
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. file — a tool

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