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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. net — in sport
  3. hand — help
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. net — after costs
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. bear — the animal
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. ball — a dance
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. hand — in cards
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. content — happy
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. ball — a great time
  18. bear — the animal
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. cell — a phone
  21. toast — bread
  22. perch — the fish
  23. net — for catching
  24. cell — in biology

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