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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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. track — a path
  7. scale — in music
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. content — happy
  11. band — a music group
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. game — wild animals
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. track — to keep track
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. track — a song
  20. game — a match
  21. band — a ring
  22. mine — for digging
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. content — the amount

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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