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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: rock · arm · lie · stand · scale · snap · field · stick

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. scale — size or range
  3. stand — to bear
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. lie — to recline
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. rock — a stone
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. scale — in music
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. rock — music
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. snap — to click
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. field — a subject
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. field — for sport

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