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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: can · key · tear · kid · court · branch · file · pound

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. can — a tin
  3. court — of a king
  4. tear — from crying
  5. can — to be able to
  6. pound — a weight
  7. kid — to tease
  8. court — of law
  9. kid — child
  10. key — for a lock
  11. tear — to rip
  12. key — in music
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. tear — from crying
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. key — the most important part
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. file — a document
  20. file — a tool
  21. can — a tin
  22. file — a line of people
  23. branch — a division
  24. court — for sport

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