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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: board · pitch · wax · spell · scale · cell · season · content

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. content — the amount
  4. board — a committee
  5. scale — size or range
  6. content — happy
  7. spell — letters
  8. spell — a short time
  9. spell — magic
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. season — of the year
  12. wax — to grow
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. season — in sport
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. pitch — completely
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. cell — a phone
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. cell — in biology
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. scale — in music
  24. pitch — a sports field

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