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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. content — happy
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. degree — from a university
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. craft — boats
  9. net — after costs
  10. cell — a phone
  11. net — in sport
  12. degree — an amount
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. scale — size or range
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. degree — temperature
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. craft — a skill
  22. content — the amount
  23. cell — in biology
  24. scale — in music

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