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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 116 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 · bowl · wound · fan · land · ground · cap · nail

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. ground — crushed
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. wound — an injury
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. ground — a position
  9. cap — a lid
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. land — ground
  15. land — to come down
  16. cap — of ice
  17. scale — in music
  18. ground — the earth
  19. land — a country
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. scale — size or range
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. wound — an injury

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