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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: bear · spell · ground · pitcher · pound · mine · patient · branch

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. spell — letters
  3. ground — crushed
  4. pound — a weight
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. bear — the animal
  7. branch — a division
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. bear — the animal
  10. mine — for digging
  11. ground — the earth
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. ground — a position
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. spell — a short time
  18. spell — magic
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. pound — for dogs

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