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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: scale · rash · branch · fall · cold · date · bay · pit

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. cold — an illness
  6. scale — size or range
  7. pit — in a race
  8. cold — not warm
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. rash — hasty
  11. branch — a division
  12. scale — in music
  13. fall — to drop
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. date — the fruit
  16. pit — a hole
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. fall — the season
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. fall — to drop
  23. rash — a series
  24. branch — of a tree

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