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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. bank — for money
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. net — for catching
  5. last — to go on
  6. season — in sport
  7. content — the amount
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. rush — hurry
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. last — final
  13. season — of the year
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. last — finally
  16. content — happy
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. bank — for money
  20. net — in sport
  21. mine — for digging
  22. net — after costs
  23. bank — of a river
  24. nail — on a finger

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