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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.

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: bowl · scale · branch · tear · ground · wave · bat · leaves

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. branch — a division
  8. ground — crushed
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. tear — to rip
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. tear — from crying
  15. scale — size or range
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. scale — in music
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. tear — from crying
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. ground — the earth
  24. wave — of the sea

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