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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: can · scale · cabinet · kick · pop · cold · content · field

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. field — a subject
  3. kick — in football
  4. content — the amount
  5. can — a tin
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. can — to be able to
  8. pop — music
  9. field — for sport
  10. pop — soda
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. field — farmland
  14. content — happy
  15. cold — not warm
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. scale — in music
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. scale — size or range
  21. cold — an illness
  22. pop — to visit
  23. can — a tin
  24. content — videos and posts

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