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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: bound · court · game · toast · spring · content · pit · scale

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. bound — tied together
  3. court — of a king
  4. scale — in music
  5. spring — the season
  6. spring — of water
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. content — happy
  9. game — a match
  10. court — of law
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. bound — obliged
  13. pit — a hole
  14. court — for sport
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. toast — bread
  18. game — wild animals
  19. pit — in a race
  20. content — the amount
  21. scale — size or range
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. spring — a coil
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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