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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 116 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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. march — the month
  4. stock — shares
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. march — music
  9. bat — the animal
  10. branch — a division
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. scale — size or range
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. march — the month
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. file — a tool
  20. stock — goods
  21. file — a document
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. file — a line of people
  24. leaves — lets stay

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