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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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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: bark · saw · scale · branch · band · snap · season · rock

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. season — of the year
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. band — a ring
  7. rock — music
  8. snap — to click
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. bark — to shout
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. band — a music group
  14. saw — the tool
  15. rock — a stone
  16. branch — a division
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. scale — in music
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. scale — size or range
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. rock — to move gently

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