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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 · chair · fan · stock · nail · clip · sharp · mine

  1. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. chair — a leader
  3. stock — goods
  4. stock — shares
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. clip — to cut
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. sharp — clever
  11. mine — for digging
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. branch — a division
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. clip — for paper
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. clip — a video
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. chair — a professorship

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