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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: pound · cold · season · plane · drill · scale · perch · content

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. content — happy
  3. scale — size or range
  4. plane — a tool
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. season — of the year
  7. content — the amount
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cold — not warm
  10. drill — the tool
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. drill — a practice
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. pound — a weight
  17. perch — the fish
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. scale — in music
  20. drill — army training
  21. season — in sport
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. plane — an aircraft

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