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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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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: vault · bore · pound · band · perch · racket · branch · hand

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. hand — help
  3. branch — a division
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. band — a ring
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. bore — to tire
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. vault — a safe
  14. bore — to drill
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. perch — the fish
  18. pound — a weight
  19. hand — in cards
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. band — a music group

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