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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: kid · mouse · trunk · branch · scale · fall · field · rest

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. branch — a division
  7. fall — to drop
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. field — farmland
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. kid — to tease
  12. field — for sport
  13. kid — child
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. fall — to drop
  16. scale — in music
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. rest — a break
  20. fall — the season
  21. field — a subject
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. scale — size or range
  24. rest — what's left

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