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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: date · branch · scale · degree · coach · mine · rock · tear

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. branch — a division
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. degree — from a university
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. tear — from crying
  7. scale — in music
  8. tear — to rip
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. rock — music
  11. date — the fruit
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. rock — a stone
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. degree — an amount
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. degree — temperature
  19. tear — from crying
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. mine — for digging
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. date — on the calendar

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