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

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. scale — size or range
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. file — a tool
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. scale — in music
  8. spell — magic
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. mine — for digging
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. spell — letters
  14. rule — a law
  15. perch — the fish
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. branch — a division
  18. spell — a short time
  19. file — a line of people
  20. rule — government
  21. file — a document
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. perch — for a bird

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