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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.

Make a worksheet

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: mine · object · scale · chair · bear · lie · content · last

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. content — happy
  4. scale — in music
  5. content — the amount
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. chair — a leader
  9. lie — to recline
  10. last — final
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. object — an aim
  13. last — finally
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. mine — for digging
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. bear — the animal
  20. object — a thing
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. scale — size or range
  23. last — to go on
  24. bear — the animal

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