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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: tube · branch · bark · shower · mug · pit · clip · scale

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. scale — in music
  3. scale — size or range
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. pit — a hole
  6. mug — a cup
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. tube — the underground
  10. mug — to rob
  11. clip — to cut
  12. mug — a face
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. clip — a video
  15. pit — in a race
  16. shower — rain
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. branch — a division
  21. tube — a container
  22. clip — for paper
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. bark — to shout

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