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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: scale · board · cold · band · lash · content · key · squash

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. key — the most important part
  4. cold — not warm
  5. key — in music
  6. band — a ring
  7. board — to get on
  8. content — happy
  9. scale — size or range
  10. squash — to crush
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. board — a committee
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. squash — the sport
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. content — the amount
  18. cold — an illness
  19. scale — in music
  20. key — for a lock
  21. band — a music group
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. lash — an eyelash

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