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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: shower · squash · pitch · track · stock · branch · dip · scale

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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 tree
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. stock — shares
  6. stock — goods
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. scale — in music
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. squash — the sport
  13. dip — to sink
  14. squash — to crush
  15. shower — to wash
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. shower — rain
  18. scale — size or range
  19. track — a song
  20. branch — a division
  21. pitch — completely
  22. track — a path
  23. track — to keep track
  24. stock — a soup base

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