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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: branch · fall · hand · field · nail · bat · wake · saw

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. branch — a division
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. saw — the tool
  6. saw — the tool
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. fall — the season
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. field — farmland
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. bat — the animal
  17. field — for sport
  18. field — a subject
  19. wake — a trail
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fall — to drop
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. hand — help

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