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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. content — happy
  3. net — for catching
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. bulb — for light
  6. wound — an injury
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bulb — for light
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. bound — tied together
  14. wound — an injury
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. bound — certain
  17. net — in sport
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. content — the amount
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. kick — in football
  23. bound — obliged
  24. content — videos and posts

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