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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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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. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. cue — for pool
  3. bank — for money
  4. saw — the tool
  5. net — after costs
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. file — a document
  8. file — a tool
  9. net — for catching
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. net — in sport
  12. saw — the tool
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. cue — a signal
  15. file — a line of people
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. bank — for money
  18. branch — a division
  19. cue — a hint
  20. pound — a weight
  21. chair — a leader
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. bank — of a river
  24. pound — for dogs

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