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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. row — a line
  3. band — a music group
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. lean — to bend
  7. lean — thin
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. club — a group
  10. net — for catching
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. net — in sport
  13. club — for dancing
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. band — a ring
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bear — the animal
  20. content — happy
  21. content — the amount
  22. club — for golf
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. row — to paddle

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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