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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: spell · bound · field · row · lash · kick · can · scale

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. bound — obliged
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. spell — a short time
  5. can — a tin
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. scale — in music
  10. spell — letters
  11. scale — size or range
  12. bound — tied together
  13. bound — certain
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. spell — magic
  16. field — farmland
  17. kick — in football
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. field — a subject
  20. field — for sport
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. can — a tin
  23. row — to paddle
  24. row — a line

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