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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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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: mine · scale · board · sharp · cell · row · branch · firm

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. firm — steady
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. board — a committee
  5. firm — decided
  6. firm — a company
  7. row — to paddle
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. cell — a phone
  11. scale — size or range
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. board — to get on
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. row — a line
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. cell — in biology
  21. sharp — clever
  22. branch — a division
  23. scale — in music
  24. mine — for digging

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