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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 116 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 · bound · cap · plane · branch · bowl · cold · snap

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. bound — tied together
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. cap — a lid
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. cap — a hat
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. cold — an illness
  11. plane — a tool
  12. bound — obliged
  13. cap — of ice
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. pound — a weight
  17. snap — to click
  18. branch — a division
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. bound — certain
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. cold — not warm
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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