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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 is in your ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. scale — in music
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. content — the amount
  5. chip — to eat
  6. tube — the underground
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. tube — a container
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. content — happy
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. cap — of ice
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. cap — a lid
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. scale — size or range
  20. court — of law
  21. court — of a king
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. chip — for betting
  24. cap — a hat

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