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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: branch · nail · shower · stock · vault · row · ground · ball

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. branch — a division
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. ball — a great time
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. stock — goods
  7. ground — a position
  8. vault — a safe
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. stock — shares
  12. row — a line
  13. shower — rain
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. ball — a dance
  17. row — to paddle
  18. shower — to wash
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. ground — the earth
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. ground — crushed
  24. stock — a soup base

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