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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. rash — a series
  3. spell — magic
  4. field — a subject
  5. scale — in music
  6. cue — a signal
  7. file — a line of people
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. rash — hasty
  10. field — for sport
  11. pop — to visit
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. pop — music
  14. spell — letters
  15. spell — a short time
  16. ground — a position
  17. cue — a hint
  18. pop — soda
  19. ground — crushed
  20. cue — for pool
  21. field — farmland
  22. file — a tool
  23. ground — the earth
  24. file — a document

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