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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 116 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 · pound · bound · clip · current · cold · fan · season

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. branch — a division
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. clip — for paper
  5. current — electric
  6. season — of the year
  7. cold — not warm
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. clip — a video
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. season — in sport
  14. current — of water
  15. bound — certain
  16. current — happening now
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. bound — obliged
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. bound — tied together
  21. clip — to cut
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cold — an illness
  24. pound — a weight

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