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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. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. content — happy
  4. bulb — for light
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. ground — crushed
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. bass — the fish
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. bulb — for light
  15. bass — low music
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. ground — the earth
  18. ground — a position
  19. content — the amount
  20. wound — an injury
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. net — for catching
  24. net — in sport

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