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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: bass · scale · kid · stem · roll · content · capital · net

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. scale — in music
  6. kid — child
  7. capital — a city
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. content — happy
  10. roll — a cake
  11. scale — size or range
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. stem — to come from
  14. bass — low music
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. kid — to tease
  18. capital — money
  19. bass — the fish
  20. roll — a list
  21. content — the amount
  22. net — for catching
  23. net — after costs
  24. net — in sport

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