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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 124 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: pop · scale · fall · spell · wound · calf · land · dip

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. land — to come down
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. wound — an injury
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. spell — letters
  7. fall — the season
  8. dip — to sink
  9. scale — in music
  10. wound — an injury
  11. spell — magic
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. pop — to visit
  14. pop — music
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. land — ground
  17. scale — size or range
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. land — a country
  20. spell — a short time
  21. fall — to drop
  22. pop — soda
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. fall — to drop

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