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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: lean · sharp · game · pound · ground · wind · branch · bass

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  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. lean — to bend
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. sharp — clever
  4. branch — a division
  5. wind — moving air
  6. lean — thin
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. bass — the fish
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. bass — low music
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. ground — a position
  14. pound — a weight
  15. ground — the earth
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. game — a match
  19. game — wild animals
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. wind — moving air
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. ground — crushed
  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