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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 124 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: branch · foot · kid · hand · rash · date · scale · lean

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. lean — thin
  5. rash — hasty
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. scale — in music
  8. kid — child
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. lean — to bend
  12. rash — a series
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. date — the fruit
  15. hand — help
  16. kid — to tease
  17. branch — a division
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. hand — in cards
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. scale — size or range

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