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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. net — in sport
  5. drill — the tool
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. drill — army training
  8. drill — a practice
  9. stem — to come from
  10. net — after costs
  11. season — in sport
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. season — of the year
  17. land — ground
  18. content — happy
  19. land — to come down
  20. content — the amount
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. land — a country
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. trunk — of a car

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