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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.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. file — a tool
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. scale — in music
  6. swing — to play on
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. swing — music
  9. stock — shares
  10. last — final
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. stock — goods
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. last — to go on
  16. ball — a great time
  17. scale — size or range
  18. swing — in golf
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. mine — for digging
  21. ball — a dance
  22. file — a line of people
  23. file — a document
  24. last — finally

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