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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. scale — in music
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. cold — not warm
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. branch — a division
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. mark — a grade
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. mark — a trace
  23. bark — to shout
  24. scale — size or range

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