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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: net · hand · jam · cap · content · field · wind · season

  1. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. wind — moving air
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. season — of the year
  6. hand — help
  7. net — after costs
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. net — in sport
  10. content — the amount
  11. net — for catching
  12. field — for sport
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. field — farmland
  15. hand — in cards
  16. cap — a lid
  17. cap — a hat
  18. content — happy
  19. season — in sport
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. cap — of ice
  22. field — a subject
  23. wind — moving air
  24. jam — a tight spot

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