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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: scale · branch · tear · ground · can · object · bat · rest

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  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. can — to be able to
  2. scale — in music
  3. tear — from crying
  4. can — a tin
  5. tear — from crying
  6. can — a tin
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. rest — a break
  9. ground — crushed
  10. rest — what's left
  11. tear — to rip
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. rest — what's left
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. object — to protest
  17. ground — the earth
  18. object — a thing
  19. ground — a position
  20. object — an aim
  21. branch — a division
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. bat — the animal
  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