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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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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: nail · wind · mine · ground · season · content · rash · branch

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. season — in sport
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. rash — a series
  7. ground — crushed
  8. content — the amount
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. season — of the year
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. ground — a position
  16. wind — moving air
  17. mine — for digging
  18. ground — the earth
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. content — happy
  21. rash — hasty
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. wind — moving air
  24. content — videos and posts

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