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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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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: charge · kid · tear · band · bass · scale · content · pitch

  1. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. kid — child
  3. band — a music group
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. bass — low music
  6. charge — in control
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. pitch — completely
  12. content — happy
  13. kid — to tease
  14. charge — a price
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. content — the amount
  17. bass — the fish
  18. tear — to rip
  19. scale — size or range
  20. charge — electricity
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. band — a ring
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — from crying

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