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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. scale — in music
  3. firm — decided
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. chest — a box
  6. spell — magic
  7. fall — to drop
  8. chest — of your body
  9. firm — a company
  10. spell — a short time
  11. field — farmland
  12. firm — steady
  13. field — a subject
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wind — moving air
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fall — the season
  21. scale — size or range
  22. perch — the fish
  23. chest — of your body
  24. field — for sport

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