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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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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: nail · date · wound · pitcher · cabinet · branch · pound · rash

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. branch — a division
  5. wound — an injury
  6. rash — hasty
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. pound — a weight
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. rash — a series
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. date — the fruit
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. wound — an injury
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. nail — for a hammer

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