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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 · patient · row · drill · shower · game · branch · band

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  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. branch — of a tree
  2. row — a line
  3. band — a music group
  4. band — a ring
  5. drill — a practice
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. shower — to wash
  8. drill — army training
  9. game — a match
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. branch — a division
  13. shower — rain
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. drill — the tool
  17. row — to paddle
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. game — wild animals
  20. scale — size or range
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  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