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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: file · scale · bark · pit · branch · cell · race · stock

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. branch — a division
  4. race — humankind
  5. scale — size or range
  6. file — a line of people
  7. cell — a phone
  8. race — a contest
  9. cell — in biology
  10. file — a tool
  11. race — the arms race
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. bark — to shout
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. stock — shares
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. file — a document
  20. scale — in music
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. pit — in a race
  24. stock — goods

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