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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. stem — to come from
  3. saw — the tool
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. cold — an illness
  9. saw — the tool
  10. net — after costs
  11. content — the amount
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. net — in sport
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. content — happy

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