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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
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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: field · shower · capital · root · chest · lean · scale · mine

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. field — farmland
  3. chest — a box
  4. mine — for digging
  5. scale — in music
  6. shower — rain
  7. root — the cause
  8. lean — thin
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. shower — to wash
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. field — for sport
  14. chest — of your body
  15. field — a subject
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. capital — money
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. root — of a plant
  20. root — of a word
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. capital — a city
  23. lean — to bend
  24. chest — of your body

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