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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: scale · bowl · prune · content · field · foot · fall · face

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. content — the amount
  3. prune — to trim
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. content — happy
  8. field — a subject
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. face — to confront
  11. field — for sport
  12. face — part of the head
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. scale — in music
  16. scale — size or range
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. fall — to drop
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. foot — a measure
  21. field — farmland
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fall — the season
  24. prune — to trim

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