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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: kid · wound · lean · chest · pass · branch · scale · court

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. wound — an injury
  3. lean — thin
  4. wound — an injury
  5. lean — to bend
  6. kid — child
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. court — of law
  9. scale — size or range
  10. chest — a box
  11. kid — to tease
  12. court — of a king
  13. chest — of your body
  14. court — for sport
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. branch — a division
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. pass — a permit
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. scale — in music
  24. pass — to succeed

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