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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.

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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 · chair · branch · arm · land · net · suit · ground

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. scale — in music
  3. land — a country
  4. scale — size or range
  5. suit — in cards
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. branch — a division
  8. suit — to fit
  9. ground — a position
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. net — for catching
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. net — in sport
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. ground — crushed
  16. chair — a leader
  17. suit — clothes
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. land — ground
  21. land — to come down
  22. ground — the earth
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. arm — part of the body

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