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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: scale · pop · plane · press · cold · field · rush · ruler

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. press — to push
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. press — a publisher
  7. plane — a tool
  8. cold — not warm
  9. field — for sport
  10. pop — music
  11. pop — to visit
  12. press — newspapers
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. scale — size or range
  15. scale — in music
  16. field — farmland
  17. cold — an illness
  18. rush — hurry
  19. pop — soda
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. plane — in geometry

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