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

Word bank: wave · rock · scale · last · chest · capital · season · branch

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. last — finally
  5. last — to go on
  6. rock — music
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. season — in sport
  9. rock — a stone
  10. season — of the year
  11. scale — in music
  12. chest — of your body
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. chest — of your body
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. scale — size or range
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. capital — a city
  21. chest — a box
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. capital — money
  24. branch — a division

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