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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: mug · bowl · fall · field · board · scale · ruler · cold

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  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. field — farmland
  2. fall — to drop
  3. mug — a cup
  4. board — to get on
  5. fall — the season
  6. mug — a face
  7. cold — an illness
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. fall — to drop
  10. scale — in music
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. mug — to rob
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. scale — size or range
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. cold — not warm
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. field — a subject
  21. board — a committee
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. field — for sport
  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