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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. swing — to play on
  3. pass — a permit
  4. scale — in music
  5. game — a match
  6. kid — child
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. scale — size or range
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. content — the amount
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. game — wild animals
  17. board — a committee
  18. swing — music
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. board — to get on
  22. swing — in golf
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. content — happy

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