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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: band · cabinet · pop · wind · scale · fine · field · leaves

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  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. pop — to visit
  2. fine — all right
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. wind — moving air
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. field — a subject
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. band — a music group
  10. field — for sport
  11. wind — moving air
  12. field — farmland
  13. pop — music
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. band — a ring
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. fine — high quality
  21. pop — soda
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. scale — size or range
  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