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

Word bank: pound · row · date · branch · race · wind

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. wind — moving air
  3. pound — a weight
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. row — to paddle
  6. branch — a division
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. wind — moving air
  9. row — a line
  10. date — the fruit
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. race — the arms race
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. race — a contest
  17. race — humankind
  18. branch — of a bank

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