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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. land — ground
  3. net — after costs
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. season — of the year
  7. staff — employees
  8. wound — an injury
  9. net — for catching
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. staff — a stick
  12. content — the amount
  13. net — in sport
  14. land — a country
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. staff — employees
  17. bank — for money
  18. season — in sport
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. bank — of a river
  21. content — happy
  22. wound — an injury
  23. land — to come down
  24. bank — for money

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