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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: kid · cap · pitcher · wound · pound · saw · fork · branch

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  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. saw — past of 'see'
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. cap — a hat
  5. saw — the tool
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pound — a weight
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. kid — to tease
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. cap — of ice
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. wound — an injury
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. fork — in a road
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. cap — a lid
  20. kid — child
  21. branch — a division
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. saw — the tool
  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