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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: current · bore · present · wind · pound · branch · face · content

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. pound — a weight
  3. wind — moving air
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. branch — a division
  7. current — happening now
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. content — the amount
  11. present — the time now
  12. face — part of the head
  13. bore — to tire
  14. present — a gift
  15. current — electric
  16. content — happy
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. face — to point toward
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. bore — to drill
  22. face — to confront
  23. present — there
  24. branch — of a tree

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