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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 116 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. root — of a plant
  9. ball — a dance
  10. wind — moving air
  11. ball — a great time
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. net — for catching
  14. net — in sport
  15. content — happy
  16. net — after costs
  17. root — of a word
  18. root — the cause

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