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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.

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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: board · cell · branch · pop · wake · bound · fork · mine

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. board — to get on
  3. board — a committee
  4. pop — to visit
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. wake — a trail
  8. pop — music
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. branch — a division
  11. bound — tied together
  12. fork — in a road
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. cell — a phone
  16. bound — certain
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. mine — for digging
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. cell — in biology
  24. bound — obliged

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