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

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. court — for sport
  3. snap — to click
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. scale — in music
  6. court — of law
  7. field — farmland
  8. season — of the year
  9. field — for sport
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. suit — in cards
  12. field — a subject
  13. saw — the tool
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. court — of a king
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. suit — to fit
  19. suit — clothes
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. content — the amount
  22. content — happy
  23. season — in sport
  24. saw — the tool

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