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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. kick — in football
  3. net — in sport
  4. content — the amount
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. land — ground
  7. net — for catching
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. swing — to play on
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. content — happy
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. land — to come down
  18. net — after costs
  19. branch — a division
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. swing — music
  22. land — a country
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. swing — in golf

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