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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: mine · content · leaves · scale · file · season · board · chest

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. season — of the year
  3. board — to get on
  4. chest — a box
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. content — the amount
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. scale — in music
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. mine — for digging
  12. season — in sport
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. file — a line of people
  15. chest — of your body
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. chest — of your body
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. file — a tool
  22. scale — size or range
  23. board — a committee
  24. file — a document

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