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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 120 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: fine · land · branch · tear · rash · racket · hand · nail

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. fine — high quality
  3. tear — from crying
  4. hand — help
  5. land — ground
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. rash — a series
  9. fine — all right
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. branch — a division
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. tear — from crying
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. hand — in cards
  20. land — a country
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. land — to come down
  23. tear — to rip
  24. rash — hasty

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