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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: fall · mine · scale · spring · mouse · bound · cue · row

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. spring — a coil
  4. row — to paddle
  5. cue — a hint
  6. scale — in music
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. row — a line
  9. bound — tied together
  10. bound — certain
  11. fall — the season
  12. scale — size or range
  13. spring — the season
  14. cue — for pool
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. fall — to drop
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. bound — obliged
  19. cue — a signal
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. fall — to drop
  24. spring — of water

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