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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · field · scale · season · stick · game

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. season — of the year
  4. field — a subject
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. scale — in music
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. scale — size or range
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. field — farmland
  12. wind — moving air
  13. game — a match
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. season — in sport
  16. field — for sport
  17. wind — moving air
  18. game — wild animals

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