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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: spring · rock · cold · dip · branch · file · scale · bowl

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  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. cold — the Cold War
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. spring — a coil
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. cold — not warm
  8. spring — of water
  9. file — a tool
  10. file — a document
  11. cold — an illness
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. scale — size or range
  16. spring — the season
  17. branch — a division
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. dip — to sink
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. rock — a stone
  22. file — a line of people
  23. rock — music
  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