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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. field — farmland
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. field — a subject
  7. content — the amount
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. fine — all right
  11. bass — low music
  12. content — happy
  13. field — for sport
  14. kick — in football
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. scale — in music
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. bass — the fish
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. bat — the animal
  24. fine — high quality

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