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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 120 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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. scale — size or range
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. rock — music
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. cold — not warm
  10. field — farmland
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. perch — the fish
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. field — a subject
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. field — for sport
  19. branch — a division
  20. scale — in music
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. cold — an illness
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. rock — to move gently

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