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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.

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: game · charge · scale · last · content · racket · march · shower

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. game — wild animals
  3. charge — electricity
  4. last — finally
  5. content — happy
  6. march — the month
  7. shower — rain
  8. charge — in control
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. shower — to wash
  12. march — the month
  13. last — to go on
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. last — final
  17. game — a match
  18. march — music
  19. scale — in music
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. charge — a price
  22. content — the amount
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. racket — for tennis

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