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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. tube — the underground
  4. tube — a container
  5. content — the amount
  6. kick — in football
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. net — for catching
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. net — in sport
  11. cold — an illness
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. mate — a friend
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. cold — not warm
  19. mate — to breed
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. mate — a partner
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. content — happy

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