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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. field — farmland
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. spring — the season
  5. ground — crushed
  6. scale — in music
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. lean — to bend
  9. lean — thin
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. ground — a position
  12. field — for sport
  13. spring — a coil
  14. spring — of water
  15. ground — the earth
  16. stand — to bear
  17. wind — moving air
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. scale — size or range
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. field — a subject
  24. wind — moving air

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