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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. scale — in music
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. plane — a tool
  7. perch — the fish
  8. content — the amount
  9. content — happy
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. kick — in football
  16. mine — for digging
  17. game — wild animals
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. bound — certain
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. bound — tied together
  23. bound — obliged
  24. scale — size or range

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