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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: wound · nail · branch · drill · ground · chest · last · can

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. drill — army training
  3. can — to be able to
  4. chest — of your body
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. drill — a practice
  7. branch — a division
  8. wound — an injury
  9. last — final
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. last — finally
  12. ground — a position
  13. can — a tin
  14. chest — a box
  15. last — to go on
  16. drill — the tool
  17. can — a tin
  18. ground — crushed
  19. ground — the earth
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. chest — of your body
  24. nail — on a finger

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