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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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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: wind · staff · cabinet · race · field · scale

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. staff — employees
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. wind — moving air
  5. staff — employees
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. race — a contest
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. field — for sport
  10. race — the arms race
  11. scale — in music
  12. race — humankind
  13. staff — a stick
  14. field — a subject
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. field — farmland
  18. cabinet — ministers

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