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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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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: suit · lean · pound · rule · cold · scale · field · stand

  1. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. lean — thin
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. field — farmland
  5. scale — size or range
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. field — for sport
  8. lean — to bend
  9. cold — not warm
  10. suit — to fit
  11. stand — to bear
  12. scale — in music
  13. suit — clothes
  14. rule — government
  15. rule — a law
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. cold — an illness
  18. field — a subject
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. pound — a weight
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. cold — the Cold War

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