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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 120 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: dip · band · sharp · leaves · firm · scale · content · club

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. dip — to sink
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. content — the amount
  5. club — for golf
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. band — a ring
  8. club — a group
  9. club — for dancing
  10. firm — decided
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. scale — in music
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. scale — size or range
  20. firm — steady
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. sharp — clever
  23. band — a music group
  24. firm — a company

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