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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
468
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: scale · content · hand · kid · wake · mug · temple · ground

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. kid — child
  4. ground — a position
  5. ground — crushed
  6. hand — in cards
  7. mug — a face
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. mug — to rob
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. scale — in music
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. ground — the earth
  16. content — happy
  17. mug — a cup
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. scale — size or range
  20. content — the amount
  21. kid — to tease
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. wake — a trail

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