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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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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: bowl · branch · staff · ground · pound · kid · mouse · bat

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. branch — a division
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. bat — the animal
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. ground — the earth
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. ground — crushed
  15. kid — child
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. staff — employees
  18. kid — to tease
  19. pound — a weight
  20. ground — a position
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. staff — employees
  23. staff — a stick
  24. bat — for baseball

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