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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 120 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: row · mark · board · content · prune · nail · wound · branch

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. prune — to trim
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. wound — an injury
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. content — happy
  8. prune — to trim
  9. content — the amount
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. board — to get on
  12. mark — a grade
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. board — a committee
  15. row — to paddle
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. wound — an injury
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. row — a line
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. branch — a division
  23. mark — a trace
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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