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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: branch · track · face · capital · roll · scale · pass · kid

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. track — a song
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. roll — a cake
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. scale — size or range
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. face — to confront
  9. scale — in music
  10. roll — a list
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. face — part of the head
  13. track — to keep track
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. track — a path
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. capital — a city
  18. capital — money
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. face — to point toward
  22. pass — a permit
  23. kid — child
  24. kid — to tease

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