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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: drill · branch · row · race · track · bat · deal · scale

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. track — a song
  5. scale — in music
  6. race — a contest
  7. track — to keep track
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. race — the arms race
  10. race — humankind
  11. deal — to handle
  12. drill — the tool
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. branch — a division
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. row — a line
  17. row — to paddle
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. drill — a practice
  20. track — a path
  21. scale — size or range
  22. drill — army training
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. bat — the animal

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