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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. net — after costs
  3. net — in sport
  4. content — the amount
  5. field — a subject
  6. bank — of a river
  7. bank — for money
  8. bulb — for light
  9. foot — a measure
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bulb — for light
  14. field — farmland
  15. wind — moving air
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. bank — for money
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. track — a song
  20. track — to keep track
  21. net — for catching
  22. track — a path
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. field — for sport

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