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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

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

Word bank: scale · field · file · nail · bank · pop

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. bank — for money
  3. field — for sport
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. file — a document
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. scale — size or range
  8. pop — music
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. pop — soda
  11. file — a tool
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. scale — in music
  14. bank — for money
  15. file — a line of people
  16. field — a subject
  17. bank — of a river
  18. pop — to visit

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