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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: lie · row · scale · fall · trunk · field · game · track

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. fall — the season
  4. fall — to drop
  5. scale — in music
  6. field — for sport
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. row — to paddle
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. row — a line
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. track — a song
  16. game — a match
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. fall — to drop
  19. lie — to recline
  20. track — to keep track
  21. field — farmland
  22. game — wild animals
  23. field — a subject
  24. scale — size or range

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