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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: wake · field · cap · chip · sharp · scale · chest · branch

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. field — a subject
  3. branch — a division
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. wake — a trail
  7. chip — to eat
  8. chest — a box
  9. field — for sport
  10. cap — a hat
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. cap — of ice
  14. chip — for betting
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. scale — in music
  17. scale — size or range
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. sharp — clever
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — of your body
  22. field — farmland
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. cap — a lid

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