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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: kid · land · branch · content · scale · nail · file · march

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. kid — to tease
  4. march — the month
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. file — a document
  7. content — happy
  8. scale — size or range
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. kid — child
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. file — a tool
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. content — the amount
  17. branch — a division
  18. scale — in music
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. land — ground
  21. march — music
  22. file — a line of people
  23. land — a country
  24. land — to come down

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