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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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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 · rest · cap · content · shower · last · net · roll

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. firm — steady
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. shower — rain
  5. net — for catching
  6. last — finally
  7. firm — a company
  8. last — final
  9. content — the amount
  10. rest — a break
  11. content — happy
  12. last — to go on
  13. firm — decided
  14. roll — a list
  15. net — after costs
  16. rest — what's left
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. cap — a lid
  19. cap — a hat
  20. roll — a cake
  21. cap — of ice
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. shower — to wash
  24. rest — what's left

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