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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  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. pound — to hit hard
  2. root — of a word
  3. bound — tied together
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. pound — a weight
  7. branch — a division
  8. band — a music group
  9. wind — moving air
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. bound — certain
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. shower — to wash
  14. bound — obliged
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wind — moving air
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. shower — rain
  19. stem — to come from
  20. band — a ring
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. root — the cause
  23. root — of a plant
  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