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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · rule · fan · bore · scale · bass · field · bat

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. scale — size or range
  3. field — a subject
  4. bass — the fish
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. rule — a law
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bass — low music
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. spell — magic
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. scale — in music
  18. bore — to drill
  19. field — farmland
  20. rule — government
  21. bore — to tire
  22. spell — a short time
  23. field — for sport
  24. scale — for weighing

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