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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.

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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: content · game · scale · race · spell · wind · net · file

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. wind — moving air
  3. scale — size or range
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. spell — magic
  6. race — the arms race
  7. game — wild animals
  8. spell — letters
  9. content — the amount
  10. net — for catching
  11. file — a line of people
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. net — after costs
  14. spell — a short time
  15. file — a tool
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. game — a match
  18. race — a contest
  19. wind — moving air
  20. scale — in music
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. file — a document
  23. race — humankind
  24. content — happy

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