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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: nail · bay · season · scale · temple · chest · hand · branch

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. branch — a division
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. season — of the year
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. season — in sport
  12. chest — of your body
  13. hand — in cards
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. hand — help
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. chest — of your body
  18. scale — in music
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. scale — size or range
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. chest — a box
  24. temple — side of the head

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