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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: ball · coach · scale · branch · stick · clip · face · degree

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. face — to confront
  5. degree — temperature
  6. clip — for paper
  7. ball — a great time
  8. scale — size or range
  9. branch — a division
  10. face — part of the head
  11. clip — a video
  12. ball — a dance
  13. face — to point toward
  14. degree — an amount
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. clip — to cut
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. scale — in music
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. degree — from a university
  24. coach — a trainer

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