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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: land · fan · row · bat · branch · bay · scale · content

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. scale — size or range
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. branch — a division
  5. row — to paddle
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. land — ground
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. content — happy
  13. content — the amount
  14. scale — in music
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. land — to come down
  21. row — a line
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. bat — the animal
  24. land — a country

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