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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. scale — in music
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. can — a tin
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. field — for sport
  8. field — a subject
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. content — the amount
  11. bass — the fish
  12. march — music
  13. scale — size or range
  14. can — to be able to
  15. field — farmland
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. march — the month
  18. can — a tin
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. march — the month
  24. bass — low music

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