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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: last · branch · leaves · clip · scale · pitcher · content · kid

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. kid — to tease
  4. scale — in music
  5. content — the amount
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. branch — a division
  9. last — finally
  10. content — happy
  11. scale — size or range
  12. last — to go on
  13. last — final
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. clip — a video
  18. kid — child
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. clip — to cut
  21. clip — for paper
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. leaves — to go away

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