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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. kid — to tease
  3. board — a committee
  4. board — to get on
  5. net — for catching
  6. shower — to wash
  7. chip — for betting
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. content — the amount
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. kid — child
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. net — in sport
  17. scale — in music
  18. shower — rain
  19. content — happy
  20. net — after costs
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. chip — to eat
  24. board — a flat piece

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