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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: cold · hand · mine · fine · branch · bound · mug · bear

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. branch — a division
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. bound — tied together
  6. hand — help
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. mine — for digging
  9. bound — certain
  10. mug — a cup
  11. fine — all right
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. fine — high quality
  14. mug — a face
  15. mug — to rob
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. hand — in cards
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. bound — obliged
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. bear — the animal
  23. cold — an illness
  24. bear — the animal

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