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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: drill · pitcher · ground · face · fall · hand · scale · fan

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. drill — army training
  3. hand — in cards
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. ground — crushed
  7. face — to point toward
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. fall — the season
  10. face — part of the head
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. drill — a practice
  15. ground — the earth
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. drill — the tool
  18. scale — size or range
  19. fall — to drop
  20. ground — a position
  21. hand — help
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. face — to confront
  24. scale — in music

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