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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 · capital · hide · club · scale · prune · bound · court

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. club — for dancing
  4. content — happy
  5. bound — tied together
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. capital — a city
  9. prune — to trim
  10. court — of a king
  11. content — the amount
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. club — a group
  14. scale — in music
  15. bound — certain
  16. court — for sport
  17. club — for golf
  18. prune — to trim
  19. scale — size or range
  20. bound — obliged
  21. court — of law
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. capital — money

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