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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 120 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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. content — happy
  3. fine — high quality
  4. scale — size or range
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. net — after costs
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. net — in sport
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. last — final
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. last — to go on
  15. scale — in music
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. last — finally
  19. prune — to trim
  20. prune — to trim
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. net — for catching
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. fine — all right

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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