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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: fall · cell · stock · field · mouse · scale · band · tear

  1. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. stock — shares
  4. field — a subject
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. field — farmland
  7. field — for sport
  8. cell — a phone
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. fall — the season
  11. stock — goods
  12. fall — to drop
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. tear — from crying
  15. band — a ring
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. tear — to rip
  18. band — a music group
  19. tear — from crying
  20. fall — to drop
  21. scale — size or range
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. cell — in biology

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