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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: land · branch · club · date · present · bear · scale · field

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. field — for sport
  5. date — the fruit
  6. scale — in music
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. field — farmland
  9. club — for golf
  10. scale — size or range
  11. field — a subject
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. present — the time now
  15. club — a group
  16. bear — the animal
  17. branch — a division
  18. present — there
  19. land — a country
  20. land — ground
  21. present — a gift
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. bear — the animal
  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