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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: mate · season · rest · wound · nail · branch · band · kick

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. rest — a break
  3. mate — a partner
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. season — in sport
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. wound — an injury
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. rest — what's left
  13. season — of the year
  14. rest — what's left
  15. kick — in football
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. mate — to breed
  18. mate — a friend
  19. wound — an injury
  20. band — a music group
  21. band — a ring
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. band — a rubber band

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