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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: scale · fall · lean · fine · march · kid · pitcher · mine

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. fine — all right
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. scale — in music
  7. kid — to tease
  8. march — music
  9. fall — the season
  10. fall — to drop
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. scale — size or range
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. march — the month
  15. march — the month
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. mine — for digging
  19. kid — child
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. fall — to drop
  23. lean — to bend
  24. lean — thin

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