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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: last · scale · pitcher · branch · bass · cold · bowl · mate

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. cold — an illness
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. last — final
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. scale — size or range
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. last — finally
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. cold — not warm
  14. mate — a friend
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. scale — in music
  18. last — to go on
  19. mate — a partner
  20. bass — the fish
  21. bass — low music
  22. branch — a division
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. scale — for weighing

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