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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 · mate · scale · temple · cap · track · bat · clip

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. cap — a hat
  3. mate — to breed
  4. cap — a lid
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. clip — a video
  7. scale — in music
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. track — a song
  10. scale — size or range
  11. mate — a friend
  12. clip — for paper
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. clip — to cut
  15. mate — a partner
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. track — to keep track
  18. branch — a division
  19. bat — the animal
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. cap — of ice
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. scale — for weighing

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