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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 · dip · march · current · scale · tear · stick · deal

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. field — a subject
  3. scale — in music
  4. current — of water
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. march — the month
  8. current — electric
  9. tear — from crying
  10. march — the month
  11. march — music
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. tear — to rip
  15. tear — from crying
  16. current — happening now
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. deal — to handle
  20. field — for sport
  21. field — farmland
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. dip — to sink
  24. deal — an agreement

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