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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: clip · bat · branch · deal · key · tear · nail · scale

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. clip — a video
  3. branch — a division
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. tear — from crying
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. scale — size or range
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. clip — to cut
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — to rip
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. clip — for paper
  15. deal — to handle
  16. key — for a lock
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. scale — in music
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. key — the most important part
  23. key — in music
  24. deal — an agreement

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