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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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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: branch · straw · pound · spring · present · nail · band · date

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. pound — a weight
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. present — there
  10. band — a music group
  11. date — the fruit
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. present — the time now
  15. spring — of water
  16. band — a ring
  17. present — a gift
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. spring — a coil
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. branch — a division
  22. spring — the season
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. date — on the calendar

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