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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: racket · ground · drill · hand · branch · rock · season · scale

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. rock — music
  3. season — of the year
  4. drill — a practice
  5. rock — a stone
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. ground — the earth
  8. season — in sport
  9. branch — a division
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. drill — army training
  13. drill — the tool
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. hand — help
  16. hand — in cards
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. ground — a position
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. scale — size or range
  24. scale — in music

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