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

Word bank: club · net · fall · chair · ruler · content

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. net — after costs
  3. fall — the season
  4. content — the amount
  5. chair — a leader
  6. net — for catching
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. club — for dancing
  9. fall — to drop
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. fall — to drop
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. club — for golf
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. content — happy
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. club — a group
  18. ruler — for measuring

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