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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: tear · face · chip · mouse · mine · scale · season · content

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. face — part of the head
  3. scale — size or range
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. season — of the year
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. content — the amount
  10. face — to point toward
  11. chip — for betting
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. tear — from crying
  14. chip — to eat
  15. scale — in music
  16. season — in sport
  17. mine — for digging
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — to rip
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. face — to confront

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