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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: branch · mine · sharp · bear · cabinet · wound · ball · chest

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. bear — the animal
  3. chest — of your body
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. bear — the animal
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. sharp — clever
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. mine — for digging
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. wound — an injury
  16. ball — a dance
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. chest — a box
  19. branch — a division
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. chest — of your body
  22. wound — an injury
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. ball — a great time

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