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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: land · perch · face · pitcher · patient · scale · fork · branch

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  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. face — part of the head
  2. land — to come down
  3. scale — in music
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. perch — the fish
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. land — a country
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. branch — a division
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. face — to point toward
  17. face — to confront
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. fork — in a road
  22. land — ground
  23. fork — to eat with
  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