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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 120 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: wind · pop · scale · land · spring · leaves · straw · suit

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. spring — a coil
  5. suit — clothes
  6. suit — in cards
  7. spring — of water
  8. suit — to fit
  9. scale — in music
  10. land — a country
  11. land — ground
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. land — to come down
  15. pop — music
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. spring — the season
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. wind — moving air
  21. pop — soda
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. pop — to visit

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