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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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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. bass — low music
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. spring — of water
  8. spring — a coil
  9. bound — certain
  10. scale — in music
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. bound — obliged
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. bound — tied together
  16. bass — the fish
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. spring — the season
  19. pound — a weight
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. scale — size or range
  23. content — happy
  24. coach — a trainer

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