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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: branch · hand · lean · field · last · nail · mug · clip

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. last — final
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. mug — to rob
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. last — finally
  7. clip — a video
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. field — for sport
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. lean — to bend
  12. hand — in cards
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. branch — a division
  15. last — to go on
  16. hand — help
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. clip — to cut
  19. field — a subject
  20. field — farmland
  21. mug — a cup
  22. clip — for paper
  23. mug — a face
  24. lean — to rest against

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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