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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: rash · scale · present · chest · nail · pitch · kid · branch

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. present — the time now
  3. chest — of your body
  4. scale — in music
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. kid — to tease
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. pitch — completely
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. branch — a division
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. chest — of your body
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. scale — size or range
  18. rash — a series
  19. kid — child
  20. present — there
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. chest — a box
  23. present — a gift
  24. rash — hasty

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