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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. scale — in music
  3. scale — size or range
  4. spring — a coil
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. fall — the season
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. net — after costs
  11. spring — of water
  12. spring — the season
  13. content — happy
  14. band — a ring
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. net — for catching
  17. content — the amount
  18. fall — to drop
  19. pitch — completely
  20. bear — the animal
  21. band — a music group
  22. bear — the animal
  23. fall — to drop
  24. bear — to put up with

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