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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: scale · field · fall · band · kick · wound · wax · land

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. band — a ring
  4. land — ground
  5. wax — to grow
  6. band — a music group
  7. land — a country
  8. fall — the season
  9. wound — an injury
  10. fall — to drop
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. kick — in football
  13. scale — size or range
  14. field — a subject
  15. scale — in music
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. wound — an injury
  18. fall — to drop
  19. land — to come down
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. field — for sport
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. field — farmland

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