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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: tear · cap · branch · net · spring · arm · temple · scale

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. branch — a division
  4. cap — of ice
  5. net — in sport
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. spring — the season
  10. scale — size or range
  11. tear — from crying
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. cap — a lid
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — to rip
  17. spring — of water
  18. net — after costs
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. scale — in music
  21. cap — a hat
  22. spring — a coil
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. net — for catching

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