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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: fall · scale · branch · press · nail · bat · season · row

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. fall — to drop
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. season — in sport
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. press — newspapers
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. press — a publisher
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. fall — the season
  13. scale — in music
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. fall — to drop
  16. scale — size or range
  17. bat — the animal
  18. season — of the year
  19. press — to push
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. row — a line
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. row — to paddle
  24. nail — for a hammer

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