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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: firm · season · net · pit · content · cold

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. 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. cold — not warm
  2. season — of the year
  3. net — after costs
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. content — happy
  6. content — the amount
  7. season — in sport
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. pit — a hole
  10. cold — an illness
  11. pit — in a race
  12. net — for catching
  13. firm — a company
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. firm — steady
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. firm — decided
  18. 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