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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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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: land · rash · present · branch · bound · fall · pound · nail

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. land — to come down
  4. present — a gift
  5. pound — a weight
  6. rash — a series
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. fall — the season
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. fall — to drop
  11. branch — a division
  12. bound — certain
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. present — there
  15. land — ground
  16. land — a country
  17. bound — tied together
  18. rash — hasty
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. present — the time now
  24. bound — obliged

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