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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: wind · field · branch · cap · bark · pound · bass · kick

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. cap — a lid
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. field — farmland
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. pound — a weight
  11. field — a subject
  12. bass — the fish
  13. cap — a hat
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — moving air
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. kick — in football
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. branch — a division
  21. bark — to shout
  22. cap — of ice
  23. field — for sport
  24. bass — low music

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