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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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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. net — for catching
  3. net — after costs
  4. content — happy
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. band — a music group
  10. net — in sport
  11. content — the amount
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. band — a ring
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. toast — bread
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. bowl — a dish

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