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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 · last · rush · row · firm · wake · scale · fine

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. field — a subject
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. last — to go on
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. last — finally
  8. fine — all right
  9. field — farmland
  10. scale — in music
  11. firm — a company
  12. firm — decided
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. rush — hurry
  15. row — a line
  16. field — for sport
  17. wake — a trail
  18. scale — size or range
  19. fine — high quality
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. firm — steady
  23. row — to paddle
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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