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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.

Make a worksheet

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: content · row · trunk · straw · ground · scale · march · deal

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. ground — the earth
  6. deal — to handle
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. content — the amount
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. scale — size or range
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. scale — in music
  14. march — the month
  15. march — the month
  16. march — music
  17. row — a line
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. content — happy
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. row — to paddle
  24. ground — a position

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