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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. net — in sport
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. net — for catching
  6. hand — in cards
  7. rest — what's left
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. content — the amount
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. rest — what's left
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. branch — a division
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. rest — a break
  19. content — happy
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. deal — to handle
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. net — after costs

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