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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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468
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: chest · board · branch · racket · clip · pound · tube · bulb

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. branch — a division
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. tube — the underground
  5. board — to get on
  6. chest — of your body
  7. tube — a container
  8. clip — a video
  9. bulb — for light
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. board — a committee
  13. bulb — for light
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. clip — for paper
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — a box
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. clip — to cut
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. branch — of a bank

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