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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 · perch · march · scale · wound · hand · rock · can

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. scale — size or range
  4. scale — in music
  5. field — a subject
  6. wound — an injury
  7. rock — a stone
  8. hand — help
  9. march — the month
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. field — for sport
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. march — music
  16. field — farmland
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. can — to be able to
  19. march — the month
  20. can — a tin
  21. wound — an injury
  22. hand — in cards
  23. can — a tin
  24. perch — the fish

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