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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: foot · branch · shower · nail · net · cold · cue · game

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. branch — a division
  4. foot — a measure
  5. cold — not warm
  6. shower — rain
  7. cue — a signal
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. net — in sport
  10. net — for catching
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. game — a match
  13. cue — a hint
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. net — after costs
  17. cue — for pool
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. shower — to wash
  21. cold — an illness
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. cold — the Cold War

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