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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: content · lie · kid · scale · mine · ball · board · wind

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. scale — in music
  3. content — happy
  4. lie — to recline
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. kid — to tease
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. kid — child
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. board — a committee
  13. ball — a dance
  14. wind — moving air
  15. board — to get on
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. scale — size or range
  18. ball — a great time
  19. content — the amount
  20. wind — moving air
  21. mine — for digging
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. lie — an untruth

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