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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 · last · field · swing · fall · race · bound · racket

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. last — to go on
  3. fall — the season
  4. scale — size or range
  5. scale — in music
  6. field — for sport
  7. swing — to play on
  8. bound — tied together
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. last — finally
  11. race — a contest
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — to drop
  14. last — final
  15. swing — music
  16. bound — obliged
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. field — a subject
  19. race — humankind
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. race — the arms race
  23. field — farmland
  24. swing — in golf

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