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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: scale · bowl · bay · straw · spell · file · land · field

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. scale — in music
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. spell — magic
  5. scale — size or range
  6. field — a subject
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. file — a document
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. file — a tool
  11. land — ground
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. land — a country
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. field — for sport
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. file — a line of people
  18. field — farmland
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. spell — letters
  23. spell — a short time
  24. bowl — to roll

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