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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: branch · band · wind · fan · clip · straw · pop · pound

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. branch — a division
  3. clip — to cut
  4. pop — music
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. wind — moving air
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. band — a music group
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. wind — moving air
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. pop — to visit
  20. pop — soda
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. band — a ring
  23. clip — a video
  24. clip — for paper

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