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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. present — a gift
  4. scale — size or range
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. swing — to play on
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. lean — thin
  10. net — after costs
  11. squash — the sport
  12. squash — to crush
  13. scale — in music
  14. swing — music
  15. swing — in golf
  16. craft — a skill
  17. net — for catching
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. lean — to bend
  20. craft — boats
  21. present — the time now
  22. content — the amount
  23. net — in sport
  24. present — there

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