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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: suit · wake · present · field · bass · hand · scale · roll

  1. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. suit — in cards
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. field — a subject
  5. bass — low music
  6. hand — in cards
  7. roll — a cake
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. field — for sport
  10. field — farmland
  11. roll — a list
  12. suit — to fit
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. suit — clothes
  15. bass — the fish
  16. scale — in music
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. present — there
  20. present — a gift
  21. hand — help
  22. scale — size or range
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. present — the time now

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