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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: cold · content · dip · net · pass · fine · calf · bowl

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. cold — not warm
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. net — after costs
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. fine — all right
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. content — the amount
  12. content — happy
  13. net — in sport
  14. pass — a permit
  15. dip — to sink
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. net — for catching
  21. cold — an illness
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. calf — of the leg

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