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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: bark · nail · mine · mark · cold · march · branch · squash

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. squash — to crush
  8. march — the month
  9. mine — for digging
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. branch — a division
  12. bark — to shout
  13. march — the month
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. squash — the sport
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. cold — not warm
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. march — music
  23. mark — a trace
  24. mark — a grade

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