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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: fall · cell · mouse · scale · content · march · swing · plane

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  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. content — videos and posts
  2. cell — a phone
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. content — happy
  5. fall — to drop
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. swing — in golf
  10. march — the month
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. plane — a tool
  13. march — music
  14. content — the amount
  15. swing — music
  16. swing — to play on
  17. fall — to drop
  18. scale — size or range
  19. fall — the season
  20. scale — in music
  21. march — the month
  22. cell — in biology
  23. cell — in a prison
  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