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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: band · wound · hand · fork · branch · bulb · drill · pound

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. band — a music group
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. branch — a division
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. band — a ring
  8. drill — army training
  9. drill — a practice
  10. hand — help
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. wound — an injury
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. pound — a weight
  17. bulb — for light
  18. fork — in a road
  19. drill — the tool
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. hand — in cards
  22. bulb — for light
  23. wound — an injury
  24. hand — part of the body

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