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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: chest · staff · game · content · fan · wound · capital · scale

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. game — wild animals
  3. capital — money
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. content — the amount
  7. scale — in music
  8. wound — an injury
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. staff — employees
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. chest — of your body
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. game — a match
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. content — happy
  17. capital — a city
  18. wound — an injury
  19. chest — a box
  20. chest — of your body
  21. staff — employees
  22. scale — size or range
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. staff — a stick

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