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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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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: fall · bound · scale · row · field · can · pit · wound

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. scale — size or range
  3. scale — in music
  4. field — for sport
  5. bound — tied together
  6. bound — obliged
  7. row — to paddle
  8. can — to be able to
  9. row — a line
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. field — a subject
  13. can — a tin
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wound — an injury
  17. field — farmland
  18. can — a tin
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bound — certain
  21. fall — to drop
  22. pit — a hole
  23. fall — to drop
  24. pit — in a race

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