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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: rest · deal · content · hand · field · scale · board · present

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. scale — size or range
  3. content — the amount
  4. present — the time now
  5. scale — in music
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. board — a committee
  9. present — there
  10. rest — a break
  11. field — for sport
  12. present — a gift
  13. hand — help
  14. deal — to handle
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. rest — what's left
  17. field — a subject
  18. rest — what's left
  19. board — to get on
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. hand — in cards
  24. field — farmland

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