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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: spell · scale · fall · sharp · roll · row · mark · arm

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. fall — to drop
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. fall — to drop
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. sharp — clever
  9. scale — in music
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. spell — letters
  12. roll — a list
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. spell — magic
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. mark — a trace
  17. fall — the season
  18. row — a line
  19. spell — a short time
  20. scale — size or range
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. mark — a grade
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. row — to paddle

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