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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 · rush · court · game · cap · scale · can · rest

  1. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. can — to be able to
  3. game — a match
  4. scale — size or range
  5. court — of a king
  6. cap — of ice
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. cap — a hat
  9. rush — hurry
  10. content — happy
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. cap — a lid
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. game — wild animals
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. content — the amount
  19. court — of law
  20. rest — what's left
  21. can — a tin
  22. rest — a break
  23. scale — in music
  24. court — for 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