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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 116 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 · ruler · field · scale · season · spring · chair · tear

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. tear — from crying
  3. spring — of water
  4. scale — in music
  5. scale — size or range
  6. season — in sport
  7. chair — a leader
  8. spring — the season
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. field — for sport
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. tear — from crying
  13. spell — a short time
  14. field — a subject
  15. spring — a coil
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. tear — to rip
  18. spell — letters
  19. spell — magic
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. season — of the year
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. season — to add flavour

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