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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. fine — high quality
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. kid — to tease
  6. march — music
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. content — happy
  13. kid — child
  14. stem — to come from
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. march — the month
  17. march — the month
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. content — the amount
  20. fine — all right
  21. net — for catching
  22. net — in sport
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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