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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: branch · sharp · land · pass · pound · cold · kick · foot

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. branch — a division
  7. cold — an illness
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. land — a country
  10. pass — a permit
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. kick — in football
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. cold — not warm
  15. land — ground
  16. foot — a measure
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. sharp — clever
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. land — to come down
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. foot — part of the body

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