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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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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: mouse · fan · branch · pound · land · cold · nail · bowl

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. land — a country
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. cold — not warm
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. land — to come down
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. branch — a division
  14. land — ground
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. cold — an illness
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. pound — a weight
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. pound — to hit hard

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