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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 120 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 · cap · bat · branch · hand · object · snap · row

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. scale — in music
  3. object — an aim
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. cap — a hat
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. object — a thing
  9. branch — a division
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. hand — help
  12. row — to paddle
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. row — a line
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bat — the animal
  19. scale — size or range
  20. hand — in cards
  21. cap — of ice
  22. snap — to click
  23. cap — a lid
  24. branch — of a tree

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