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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: bore · capital · branch · file · wind · net · bound · band

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. bound — tied together
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. capital — a city
  5. file — a tool
  6. net — after costs
  7. wind — moving air
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. bound — obliged
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. band — a music group
  12. capital — money
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. file — a line of people
  15. net — in sport
  16. bound — certain
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. wind — moving air
  19. branch — a division
  20. band — a ring
  21. file — a document
  22. bore — to tire
  23. net — for catching
  24. bore — to drill

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