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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.

Words on the sheet
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: land · kid · bound · pound · mouse · cue · net · branch

  1. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. net — after costs
  4. cue — a hint
  5. bound — certain
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. land — to come down
  8. cue — for pool
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. cue — a signal
  12. kid — child
  13. net — for catching
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. bound — tied together
  17. net — in sport
  18. land — ground
  19. pound — a weight
  20. kid — to tease
  21. bound — obliged
  22. branch — a division
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. land — a country

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