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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. net — after costs
  3. suit — in cards
  4. net — in sport
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. mug — to rob
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — not warm
  11. suit — to fit
  12. mug — a face
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. rule — a law
  15. content — happy
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. rule — government
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. mug — a cup
  22. suit — clothes
  23. content — the amount
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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