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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 116 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: row · wound · tear · drill · wake · branch · patient · nail

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. wound — an injury
  3. tear — from crying
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. drill — the tool
  6. wake — a trail
  7. row — to paddle
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. row — a line
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. wound — an injury
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. tear — from crying
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. drill — a practice
  20. tear — to rip
  21. branch — a division
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. drill — army training
  24. branch — of a tree

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