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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 116 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. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. ground — a position
  3. chip — for betting
  4. content — the amount
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. net — in sport
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. chip — to eat
  9. ground — crushed
  10. track — a song
  11. net — after costs
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. prune — to trim
  15. track — a path
  16. content — happy
  17. track — to keep track
  18. ground — the earth
  19. prune — to trim
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. row — a line
  22. deal — to handle
  23. row — to paddle
  24. deal — an agreement

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