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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: rule · sharp · press · kick · scale · roll · bat · branch

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. roll — a cake
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. kick — in football
  5. rule — government
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. press — a publisher
  8. scale — in music
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. branch — a division
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. bat — the animal
  17. press — newspapers
  18. press — to push
  19. sharp — clever
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. roll — a list
  22. rule — a law
  23. scale — size or range
  24. bat — in an idiom

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