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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: content · spell · present · net · hand · court · fine · firm

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. net — after costs
  3. content — the amount
  4. present — a gift
  5. spell — a short time
  6. fine — all right
  7. net — in sport
  8. court — of law
  9. firm — steady
  10. present — there
  11. court — for sport
  12. hand — help
  13. present — the time now
  14. fine — high quality
  15. firm — decided
  16. hand — in cards
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. spell — magic
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. content — happy
  22. spell — letters
  23. net — for catching
  24. court — of a king

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