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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. content — happy
  3. drill — a practice
  4. craft — a skill
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. content — the amount
  8. drill — army training
  9. net — for catching
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. net — in sport
  13. craft — boats
  14. fall — the season
  15. chair — a leader
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. bass — the fish
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. drill — the tool
  21. fall — to drop
  22. bass — low music
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. fall — to drop

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