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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: bank · board · drill · wound · ground · branch · cell · swing

  1. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. ground — crushed
  3. cell — in biology
  4. drill — a practice
  5. bank — for money
  6. wound — an injury
  7. ground — the earth
  8. cell — a phone
  9. board — to get on
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. swing — music
  15. board — a committee
  16. branch — a division
  17. drill — the tool
  18. swing — in golf
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. ground — a position
  21. swing — to play on
  22. wound — an injury
  23. drill — army training
  24. bank — for money

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