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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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Word bank
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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 · shower · bass · file · scale · cold

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cold — an illness
  5. shower — rain
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. scale — size or range
  9. branch — a division
  10. shower — to wash
  11. bass — low music
  12. bass — the fish
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. file — a tool
  17. scale — in music
  18. file — a line of people

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