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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: file · field · rock · branch · cold · march · deal · scale

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  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. deal — to handle
  2. scale — in music
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. cold — an illness
  8. file — a document
  9. field — farmland
  10. rock — music
  11. branch — a division
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. march — the month
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. file — a line of people
  17. file — a tool
  18. march — music
  19. march — the month
  20. rock — a stone
  21. field — a subject
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. field — for sport
  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