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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: march · craft · scale · content · bay · row · straw · rock

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. scale — in music
  3. craft — boats
  4. march — the month
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. craft — a skill
  7. rock — music
  8. march — music
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. march — the month
  12. row — to paddle
  13. rock — a stone
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. content — happy
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. content — the amount
  22. scale — size or range
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. row — a line

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