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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: scale · chip · trunk · racket · stand · field · nail · branch

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. chip — to eat
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. scale — in music
  14. field — farmland
  15. chip — for betting
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. stand — to bear
  21. field — a subject
  22. branch — a division
  23. field — for sport
  24. scale — size or range

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