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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: band · scale · content · pitcher · rule · mine

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. rule — government
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. scale — in music
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. mine — for digging
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. band — a music group
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. rule — a law
  13. content — happy
  14. band — a ring
  15. content — the amount
  16. scale — size or range
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. content — videos and posts

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