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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: cabinet · tear · kid · wake · scale · pitcher · bay · field

  1. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. tear — from crying
  3. wake — a trail
  4. kid — to tease
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. tear — from crying
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. field — farmland
  11. kid — child
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. field — a subject
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. tear — to rip
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. scale — size or range
  21. scale — in music
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. field — for sport

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