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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: bark · kick · branch · pound · wound · staff · pit · last

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. last — final
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. staff — employees
  5. branch — a division
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. bark — to shout
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. staff — employees
  11. wound — an injury
  12. kick — in football
  13. pit — in a race
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. pound — a weight
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. staff — a stick
  18. wound — an injury
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. last — to go on
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. pit — a hole
  23. last — finally
  24. pound — for dogs

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