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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: content · land · mouse · sharp · pound · club · branch · march

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. march — music
  4. content — happy
  5. club — for dancing
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. land — a country
  8. pound — a weight
  9. branch — a division
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. march — the month
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. land — to come down
  15. club — for golf
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. club — a group
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. land — ground
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. content — the amount
  23. march — the month
  24. sharp — clever

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