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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: field · rock · row · kid · lean · scale

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. field — for sport
  3. field — a subject
  4. kid — to tease
  5. row — to paddle
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. scale — in music
  9. rock — music
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. row — a line
  12. lean — to bend
  13. field — farmland
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. scale — size or range
  17. rock — a stone
  18. kid — child

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