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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 124 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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. ground — the earth
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. ground — crushed
  8. board — to get on
  9. board — a committee
  10. scale — in music
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. march — music
  13. court — of a king
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. court — for sport
  16. march — the month
  17. court — of law
  18. march — the month
  19. game — a match
  20. scale — size or range
  21. game — wild animals
  22. ground — a position
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. content — happy

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