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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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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: wind · nail · chest · current · pound · key · lean · branch

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. current — electric
  4. current — happening now
  5. key — the most important part
  6. lean — thin
  7. lean — to bend
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. chest — a box
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. wind — moving air
  14. pound — a weight
  15. key — for a lock
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. chest — of your body
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. key — in music
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. wind — moving air
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. current — of water
  24. branch — a division

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