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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: firm · track · cold · branch · bore · clip · arm · scale

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. firm — steady
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. scale — size or range
  6. bore — to tire
  7. cold — an illness
  8. clip — a video
  9. firm — a company
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. clip — for paper
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. branch — a division
  14. clip — to cut
  15. firm — decided
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. track — a song
  18. cold — not warm
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. scale — in music
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. bore — to drill
  23. track — to keep track
  24. track — a path

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