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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: spell · scale · field · mark · branch · wave · hand · bowl

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. field — farmland
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. scale — in music
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. branch — a division
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. field — for sport
  9. field — a subject
  10. spell — letters
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. hand — help
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. spell — magic
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. hand — in cards
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. spell — a short time
  21. scale — size or range
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. mark — a trace

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