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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: tear · mine · spell · branch · net · pound

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. branch — a division
  3. tear — to rip
  4. spell — a short time
  5. net — in sport
  6. spell — magic
  7. tear — from crying
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. mine — for digging
  11. net — for catching
  12. spell — letters
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. tear — from crying
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. pound — a weight
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. pound — to hit hard

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