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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: branch · season · hand · bound · cell · key · mine · rock

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. rock — a stone
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. rock — music
  5. season — in sport
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. cell — a phone
  8. mine — for digging
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. season — of the year
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. key — for a lock
  13. hand — help
  14. cell — in biology
  15. bound — certain
  16. hand — in cards
  17. bound — tied together
  18. key — in music
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. branch — a division
  21. key — the most important part
  22. bound — obliged
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. branch — of a tree

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