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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 120 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.

Make a worksheet

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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. scale — in music
  4. content — the amount
  5. fine — high quality
  6. scale — size or range
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. chair — a leader
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. march — the month
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. march — the month
  15. march — music
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. fine — all right

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