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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. tube — the underground
  3. content — the amount
  4. net — in sport
  5. saw — the tool
  6. land — ground
  7. net — after costs
  8. content — happy
  9. spring — a coil
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. land — to come down
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. spring — of water
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. tube — a container
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. land — a country
  22. toast — bread
  23. spring — the season
  24. saw — the tool

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