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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 120 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.

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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: net · field · current · content · arm · rash

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. net — for catching
  3. content — happy
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. rash — hasty
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. net — in sport
  9. rash — a series
  10. field — farmland
  11. field — a subject
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. current — electric
  14. field — for sport
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. content — the amount
  17. current — happening now
  18. current — of water

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