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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: tube · branch · date · craft · dip · cold · game · nail

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. game — wild animals
  9. craft — a skill
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. tube — a container
  14. date — the fruit
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. cold — not warm
  19. craft — boats
  20. tube — the underground
  21. game — a match
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. branch — a division
  24. dip — to sink

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