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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  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. content — the amount
  2. net — for catching
  3. pop — to visit
  4. craft — a skill
  5. pop — music
  6. chip — for betting
  7. craft — boats
  8. pop — soda
  9. season — in sport
  10. net — in sport
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. drill — army training
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. season — of the year
  15. drill — the tool
  16. drill — a practice
  17. content — happy
  18. ball — a dance
  19. chip — to eat
  20. ball — a great time
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. net — after costs
  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