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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: sharp · press · spell · bat · branch · board · cell · scale

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. board — to get on
  4. sharp — clever
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. scale — size or range
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. press — to push
  12. branch — a division
  13. bat — the animal
  14. board — a committee
  15. spell — letters
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. scale — in music
  18. cell — in biology
  19. press — a publisher
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. spell — a short time
  22. spell — magic
  23. press — newspapers
  24. cell — in a prison

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