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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: race · clip · charge · shower · branch · scale · hide · court

  1. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. charge — electricity
  3. race — humankind
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. clip — a video
  6. charge — a price
  7. shower — to wash
  8. charge — in control
  9. race — the arms race
  10. branch — a division
  11. court — of law
  12. shower — rain
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. clip — to cut
  17. clip — for paper
  18. court — of a king
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. court — for sport
  21. scale — size or range
  22. race — a contest
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. scale — for weighing

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