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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: content · spell · court · file · season · pitcher · scale · bay

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. content — the amount
  3. spell — a short time
  4. season — in sport
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. court — of a king
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. court — of law
  10. file — a line of people
  11. season — of the year
  12. spell — letters
  13. content — happy
  14. file — a document
  15. scale — size or range
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. scale — in music
  18. spell — magic
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. court — for sport
  24. pitcher — a jug

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