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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: game · scale · rest · field · rush · ball · cabinet · content

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. content — the amount
  3. content — happy
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. rest — a break
  6. scale — in music
  7. field — farmland
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. field — for sport
  10. scale — size or range
  11. rest — what's left
  12. rush — hurry
  13. ball — a great time
  14. game — wild animals
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. field — a subject
  18. ball — a dance
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. scale — for weighing

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