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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: bass · drill · branch · hand · key · content · file · pound

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. drill — army training
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. hand — in cards
  5. bass — the fish
  6. drill — the tool
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. file — a document
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. drill — a practice
  14. key — in music
  15. key — for a lock
  16. file — a line of people
  17. content — the amount
  18. branch — a division
  19. bass — low music
  20. file — a tool
  21. hand — help
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. key — the most important part
  24. content — happy

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