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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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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: squash · present · scale · lean · land · race · band · content

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. present — the time now
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. scale — in music
  5. land — a country
  6. band — a music group
  7. squash — the sport
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. lean — to bend
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. content — happy
  13. squash — to crush
  14. race — humankind
  15. lean — thin
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. band — a ring
  18. scale — size or range
  19. land — to come down
  20. race — the arms race
  21. present — there
  22. present — a gift
  23. race — a contest
  24. land — ground

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