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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: drill · fall · game · clip · land · roll · season · scale

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. land — to come down
  4. drill — a practice
  5. season — of the year
  6. season — in sport
  7. fall — to drop
  8. drill — army training
  9. roll — a list
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. clip — for paper
  12. drill — the tool
  13. clip — to cut
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. land — ground
  16. scale — in music
  17. fall — the season
  18. land — a country
  19. game — wild animals
  20. clip — a video
  21. roll — a cake
  22. game — a match
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. fall — to drop

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