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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.

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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. content — happy
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. swing — music
  5. key — for a lock
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. swing — to play on
  8. key — the most important part
  9. key — in music
  10. scale — size or range
  11. court — for sport
  12. land — ground
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. swing — in golf
  15. land — a country
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. scale — in music
  18. perch — the fish
  19. content — the amount
  20. court — of a king
  21. court — of law
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. perch — for a bird

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