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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: key · scale · clip · field · cabinet · calf · rash · toast

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. rash — hasty
  3. key — for a lock
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. key — the most important part
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. field — farmland
  8. key — in music
  9. toast — bread
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. clip — a video
  12. scale — in music
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. clip — to cut
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. rash — a series
  19. scale — size or range
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. field — for sport
  24. field — a subject

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