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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: lie · cabinet · craft · content · race · pit · scale · land

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. race — humankind
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. pit — in a race
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. content — the amount
  9. land — ground
  10. scale — size or range
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. craft — a skill
  13. craft — boats
  14. land — to come down
  15. land — a country
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. pit — a hole
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. scale — in music
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. race — a contest
  23. race — the arms race
  24. lie — to recline

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