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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: scale · track · land · roll · shower · saw · mark · press

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. press — to push
  3. mark — a grade
  4. land — to come down
  5. saw — the tool
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. shower — to wash
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. shower — rain
  11. roll — a cake
  12. land — ground
  13. track — to keep track
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. press — a publisher
  16. saw — the tool
  17. mark — a trace
  18. scale — size or range
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. press — newspapers
  21. scale — in music
  22. track — a song
  23. roll — a list
  24. land — a country

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