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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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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 · bound · pound · board · file · ground · fall · coach

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. file — a document
  4. fall — to drop
  5. board — a committee
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. file — a tool
  8. bound — certain
  9. bound — obliged
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. fall — to drop
  12. ground — crushed
  13. pound — a weight
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. ground — a position
  16. branch — a division
  17. fall — the season
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. file — a line of people
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. ground — the earth
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. bound — tied together
  24. board — a flat piece

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