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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: band · club · file · plane · branch · mouse · nail · capital

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. band — a music group
  3. file — a tool
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. capital — money
  6. branch — a division
  7. club — a group
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. club — for dancing
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. club — for golf
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. file — a line of people
  18. plane — a tool
  19. band — a ring
  20. file — a document
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. capital — a city
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. branch — of a bank

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