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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 116 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: face · band · spring · scale · net · pop · wake · content

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. face — to point toward
  3. pop — to visit
  4. scale — in music
  5. scale — size or range
  6. pop — music
  7. content — happy
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. band — a ring
  10. wake — a trail
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. net — after costs
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. spring — the season
  15. spring — of water
  16. face — part of the head
  17. spring — a coil
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. content — the amount
  20. net — in sport
  21. face — to confront
  22. band — a music group
  23. net — for catching
  24. pop — soda

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