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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. file — a tool
  3. scale — size or range
  4. track — a song
  5. ball — a dance
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. season — in sport
  8. track — to keep track
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. file — a line of people
  11. ball — a great time
  12. fork — in a road
  13. content — the amount
  14. track — a path
  15. file — a document
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. bass — the fish
  19. bass — low music
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. content — happy
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. season — of the year
  24. scale — in music

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