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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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. bank — of a river
  3. bank — for money
  4. net — for catching
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. spring — a coil
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. content — happy
  9. wax — to grow
  10. chip — to eat
  11. net — after costs
  12. spring — of water
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. chip — for betting
  15. last — to go on
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. net — in sport
  18. season — in sport
  19. season — of the year
  20. last — finally
  21. last — final
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. spring — the season
  24. content — the amount

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