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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: game · snap · scale · row · press · stock · branch · lie

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. game — wild animals
  5. stock — goods
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. row — to paddle
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. branch — a division
  11. row — a line
  12. snap — to click
  13. game — a match
  14. lie — to recline
  15. scale — size or range
  16. stock — shares
  17. press — newspapers
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. press — a publisher
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. press — to push
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. scale — in music

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