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

Word bank: pound · kid · straw · branch · stand · bowl · wound · net

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. wound — an injury
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. net — in sport
  5. kid — to tease
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. net — for catching
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. kid — child
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. pound — a weight
  16. branch — a division
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. wound — an injury
  19. net — after costs
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. stand — to bear
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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