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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 · patient · key · perch · pop · fall · last · bound

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. fall — to drop
  3. pop — soda
  4. key — in music
  5. fall — the season
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. last — final
  8. last — to go on
  9. scale — size or range
  10. pop — to visit
  11. bound — obliged
  12. bound — tied together
  13. key — the most important part
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. pop — music
  16. perch — the fish
  17. scale — in music
  18. bound — certain
  19. key — for a lock
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. last — finally

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