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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 120 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: scale · perch · cap · ground · row · field · ruler · kick

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. field — farmland
  3. field — for sport
  4. cap — a lid
  5. ground — the earth
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. cap — of ice
  8. scale — in music
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. perch — the fish
  12. kick — in football
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. ground — a position
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. ground — crushed
  19. row — to paddle
  20. row — a line
  21. field — a subject
  22. cap — a hat
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. scale — size or range

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