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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: hand · squash · shower · nail · wax · branch · stick · content

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. shower — to wash
  6. squash — to crush
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. branch — a division
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. squash — the sport
  18. wax — to grow
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. content — happy
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. content — the amount
  23. hand — help
  24. shower — rain

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