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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: race · can · mouse · cold · field · bank · pitcher · scale

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. bank — for money
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. scale — size or range
  8. race — a contest
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. can — to be able to
  11. field — for sport
  12. bank — of a river
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. bank — for money
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. race — the arms race
  19. can — a tin
  20. race — humankind
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. field — a subject
  23. can — a tin
  24. scale — in music

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