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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.

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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. scale — in music
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. chip — for betting
  8. content — happy
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. bound — certain
  13. land — a country
  14. scale — size or range
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. track — to keep track
  17. land — to come down
  18. chip — to eat
  19. track — a song
  20. track — a path
  21. bound — obliged
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. bound — tied together
  24. land — ground

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