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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 116 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: season · mine · shower · race · clip · cabinet · branch · scale

  1. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. scale — size or range
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. race — a contest
  5. branch — a division
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. race — humankind
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. mine — for digging
  12. race — the arms race
  13. clip — a video
  14. season — in sport
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. clip — for paper
  19. shower — to wash
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. season — of the year
  23. shower — rain
  24. clip — to cut

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