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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. net — after costs
  3. clip — a video
  4. can — a tin
  5. clip — for paper
  6. content — the amount
  7. bank — for money
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. hand — in cards
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. hand — help
  12. bank — of a river
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. can — a tin
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. bank — for money
  17. clip — to cut
  18. dip — to sink
  19. content — happy
  20. net — in sport
  21. craft — a skill
  22. can — to be able to
  23. net — for catching
  24. dip — a sauce

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