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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.

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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: bowl · content · scale · rash · row · clip · wake · pop

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. row — a line
  4. scale — size or range
  5. row — to paddle
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. rash — hasty
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. wake — a trail
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. pop — music
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. rash — a series
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. clip — a video
  16. scale — in music
  17. clip — to cut
  18. pop — soda
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. clip — for paper
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. content — happy
  23. content — the amount
  24. pop — to visit

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