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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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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: branch · pound · rest · track · bound · face · court · wind

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. wind — moving air
  3. track — a path
  4. pound — a weight
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. court — of law
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. track — a song
  9. face — to confront
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. branch — a division
  12. rest — what's left
  13. bound — obliged
  14. bound — certain
  15. face — to point toward
  16. rest — what's left
  17. bound — tied together
  18. court — for sport
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. wind — moving air
  21. court — of a king
  22. face — part of the head
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. rest — a break

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