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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 116 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: spring · wind · cabinet · fork · row · nail · pitch · scale

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. wind — moving air
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. scale — in music
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. row — a line
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. scale — size or range
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. pitch — completely
  14. spring — a coil
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. spring — of water
  18. wind — moving air
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. row — to paddle
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. fork — in a road

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