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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: fork · ground · scale · capital · field · perch · branch · tube

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. tube — the underground
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. field — a subject
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. ground — a position
  7. field — farmland
  8. field — for sport
  9. capital — money
  10. perch — the fish
  11. scale — in music
  12. tube — a container
  13. ground — crushed
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. ground — the earth
  17. capital — a city
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. scale — size or range
  20. fork — in a road
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. branch — a division
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. perch — for a bird

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