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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 116 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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. scale — in music
  4. bound — obliged
  5. pop — soda
  6. field — for sport
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. mine — for digging
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. bound — tied together
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. bound — certain
  13. scale — size or range
  14. perch — the fish
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. lean — to bend
  17. lean — thin
  18. pop — music
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. field — a subject
  21. field — farmland
  22. row — to paddle
  23. pop — to visit
  24. row — a line

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